Arcade Armageddon
by Witch Knight Daisy
Summary: One by one, the games have been taken over and ripped from our control, and then taken out of our hands by an insidious virus. But where did the virus come from, and what caused it? Rewrite of the "Viral Empire" series.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:I don't own Wreck-It Ralph!**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 1**

Vanellope woke up to another beautiful, sweet morning in _Sugar Rush_, opening up the pink (or salmon, in King Candy terms) curtains to welcome the first rays of the always-shining atmosphere of the game. The sun was always shining in the candy racing game, emitting light to its frosting and cherry-topped fields and chocolate rivers. The princess could see the Diet Cola Mountain in the distance, feeling a small sense of homesickness. Although Vanellope's true home was the Sugar Castle, she missed living in the soda-themed volcano that stood tall and proud in the heart of _Sugar Rush_. For fifteen years as a glitch, Vanellope had called the Diet Cola Springs home, and had been used to it during that period.

Now that she was living in the castle as royalty, Vanellope had more than a handful of responsibilities as President of _Sugar Rush_, and, that in itself, was not an easy task.

Vanellope stretched, loosening up from a good night's rest and to another promising day of racing. She'd placed second in yesterday's Random Roster Race, which hadn't been the worst she'd ever placed but it would have been nice if it were first, which her sister Taffyta had taken.

Ever since the King Candy/Turbo incident, and she and the other _Sugar Rush_ racers had made amends, Vanellope, Taffyta, and Candlehead had grown closer than than they had been before, which led them to being more like sisters. Rancis had even taken a liking to Vanellope, offering her a hand whenever she needed or if he just wanted to talk and get to know her more. The other racers also looked up to her as a role model, always relying on her to protect the game they loved dearly. Vanellope became so well-received among her her fellow racers that she could hardly believe how much of a turn her life made after Turbo's defeat and her reclaiming the throne. It felt as if her fifteen years of neglection and mistreatment had been a dream.

A sudden knock was heard at the door, causing Vanellope to let out an _eep_ and snap her out of her thoughts. Then she recognized the monotone voice following it. "Princess? Are you awake?"

"Come in."

Sour Bill entered the room, a chocolate clipboard in his detached hands. He held his always-seemingly lethargic expression as he skittered up to his president, although it was more serious, unlike other instances. Vanellope was certain it was something important.

"So, what's up?"

"You do remember what I told you yesterday about the possibility of Litwak's applying an upgrade to _Sugar Rush, _right?" The piece of sour candy asked.

"You did. You said you weren't sure if it was true or not." Vanellope stared down at her adviser intently, recalling what Bill had told her yesterday.

The arcade and its games had to undergo inspection, a semi-annual procedure for all arcades, which had been last week and that everyone was required to remain in their games until the brief look-over was complete. The technician had deemed everything in working order...except for one detail, which had sounded simple as Bill had relayed the information to Vanellope. To the technician, on the other hand, it had been considered a big deal, and a major one at that, from what Sour Bill had heard from the conversation between the arcade owner and the technician. Their game was not up to date with the other copies of the candy-themed racing game.

Vanellope knew what this usually meant (_Dance Dance Revolution_ had to go through this same ordeal), but last night she hadn't been listening carefully.

From his present expression, however, the princess realized that it was all true. _Sugar Rush _was getting an upgrade, and a powerful one at that. She couldn't help but wonder how it would affect the gameplay, namely the attention they would get afterwards, the environment, and even herself and the other racers. Did this mean more tracks? Improved karts? Would they get more players? Vanellope was not certain of any of these, nor was she aware of all the details concerning it.

"So, how's this upgrade going to affect the game?" Vanellope inquired, "Are we gonna have more tracks and power-ups? Or new avatars?"

"I don't know everything about it, princess," Bill replied. "I only know that we're going to have an upgrade for sure. And that Litwak is planning to upload it on Friday."

"Okay, then. But if you pick up anything else, you'd better relay it to me, Sour Patch."

Bill nodded, not in the least bothered by the nickname.

_"Attention! The arcade opens in five minutes. Please report to your games."_ The familiar, blaring voice of the intercom system was heard, which earned Sour Bill a glare from his president.

"Bill! Why didn't you wake me up sooner? You know what I usually do before the day starts!"

"Forgive me, princess."

Vanellope burst into a fit of giggles. "I'm just messing with ya, Sourpuss. Sure, I'm a little miffed about it, but I can't stay like that forever. Even if I _were_ mad, it wouldn't have bothered you anyway."

"Mm-hm." Sour Bill nodded in his usually bored manner as he left the room, slowly closing the door and leaving Vanellope to get prepared for the day.

Vanellope sat down at the foot of her vanilla-themed bed, thinking about everything Sour Bill had said. She smirked, the thought of an upgrade sounding fun, though a bit scary at first, considering that they would not know what a character would go through during the process. Also, how would the other racers react once she told them of the sudden improvement to the game? Especially when nobody knew exactly how it would be affected. More importantly, how would the upgrade affect her glitch-like teleportation? Which made it just as scary for her more than anything, seeing as she'd grown attached to her extra ability. So many questions were swimming through Vanellope's head; however, there was plenty of time to ask them later.

For now, though, she had the day to focus on, and glancing down at herself still in her mint-green pajamas, she had to get a move on.

**Read and REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-It Ralph!**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 2**

"Bet I'll get first about twenty times today," Taffyta gloated, hanging out beside her Pink Lightning and waiting for the arcade to open as well as the first quarter alert. Candlehead and the others were with her, merely whittling away the time until then.

"You know that's impossible in one day, Taffyta," the birthday-themed racer rolled her eyes, "Besides, I think you only got first in the Random Roster Race because Vanellope held back."

"Maybe even let her win that once," added Snowanna, leaning forward on the hood of her Fro Cone with amusement. "I still love ya, Taff, but just because you're on the board for today doesn't mean kids are gonna pick you every single time. They might even pick me today (even though I got ninth in the race)."

"Or me," Swizzle chimed in, moseying up to the group of chattering girls in a blasé fashion. "Getting fourth place in most of the races and all..."

"Yeah, _most,_" Taffyta muttered, then sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if Vanellope gets chosen today at least three or four times."

"_I_ got picked more than her once a few days ago," Candlehead interjected, "And have beaten her a few times out of that."

"_You _have?" Snowanna asked, now curious.

"Why not? Just because Vanellope's president and supposed to be the best doesn't mean she's _always_ the best. Hey, the better karts tend to be harder to handle than most others, and the kid who was playing our game that time wasn't that good. Seriously, he was all over the place with Vanellope."

"And I bet bad players were like that with a certain viral jerkface we _used_ to know and love. When he was part of this game, that is." That was when Taffyta started to have memories of their former tyrant, King Candy, not to mention how much they'd been forced to respect and look up to him. That had been one experience the strawberry racer wanted so badly to forget, specifically because it had meant bullying Vanellope to no end. She had to keep reminding herself that she changed and promised she'd never do such a deed again. If it were to happen again (User forbade), she'd rather spend an entire week, no, _year_ in the Fungeon and go hungry.

"Please, I don't even wanna _think_ about that guy!" Swizzle interjected, almost losing his cool for a second, which was a first for the unicorn pop racer. "I couldn't stand that...that..."

"Whoa there, Swizz. Calm down," Snowanna cut him off, allowing him to regain his calm, then regarded Candlehead, "Anyway, you're kinda right. I mean, not all gamers who play this game are necessarily good."

"Especially when she lost to me once last week because of a bad racer," added Taffyta. "But it makes the game fair this time. Everyone's got a chance at winning."

"Which makes her a good friend and a _way _better leader than _that_ guy," said Candlehead. "Speaking of Vanellope..." The birthday racer glanced around for the princess/president. "Where is she? The arcade's about to open."

"She's probably messing around with Wreck-It," Taffyta guessed, a casual air to her voice. "Again. The usual before opening time, and don't forget after closing time. I tell you, she must really care a lot about the big guy."

"Yep, that's our pres.," Snowanna agreed. "You think she's got a thing for Wreck-It?"

Silence fell among the other racers at the sudden theory. Nobody seemed to have a comment for the snow cone racer's million-dollar question. But before anyone could say anything...

"Sorry I'm late, guys!"

Everyone turned to see Vanellope hurrying up to the starting line, with Taffyta nearly startled when she glitched over to her kart. The princess gave the strawberry-themed racer and the others an apologetic smile.

"Where have you been, girl?" Snowanna threw her arms up.

"Yeah, usually you're here, like, thirty minutes before," Candlehead added, "What were you and Wreck-It doing so long."

"I didn't get to see him this morning. I wish, though," Vanellope said, "Besides, I didn't even get to leave the game. Sour Bill didn't wake me up like he was supposed to until about a half-hour ago."

"What was _he_ doing so long that made him forget?" Taffyta pressed on, trying to get every detail out of her sister. She always loved doing that to Vanellope because of all the constant visits from Ralph or with anything that was teaseworthy in general.

"Well, I..." Vanellope, on the other hand, was trying hard to think of a good lie. As much as she wanted to tell Taffyta about the upcoming upgrade, she couldn't, at least not now. But she promised herself she was definitely going to tell the others, eventually.

_"Quarter alert!"_ a voice blared throughout the racing game, cuing for the racers to mount their karts and prepare for the upcoming round. Vanellope sighed in relief as she hopped in her own chocolate-coated kart she and Ralph had made. Everytime she started it up, she felt that her wrecking friend was there with her, which made this kart, in a way, better than her former kart King Candy had hijacked along with the game fifteen years ago, for it was her very own and signed by herself and Ralph.

"Don't go easy on me today," Taffyta warned, darting a friendly smirk at her rival.

"Not planning to. Hopefully whoever chooses me today's gonna be a pro and not a lazy diaper baby or a Sluggish 'Shroom." Vanellope returned the smirk, knowing this was, and always would be, a friendly competition.

"Like some of those other times, when I wiped the floor with you?"

"Don't remind me. It's a new day, Lady Lollipop. This time, it'll be your lovely President," Vanellope countered, giggling. When she and Taffyta were face-to-face, the princess knew she wasn't looking at the bully who had given her fifteen years of misery under King Candy's orders. She saw a friend. A _true_ BFF and rival.

**More to come soon! In the meantime, read and REVIEW! I'd love to hear your opinions!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-It Ralph (and never will).**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 3**

Closing time came before anyone knew it. Ralph was picking himself up from the mud, brushing himself off from his recent plummet before closing time. It didn't faze him at all anymore. Then again, it wasn't supposed to, considering he'd been through this same routine for thirty years, where he'd been rejected and shunned simply because of his job description. Ever since the King Candy/Turbo peril, the mere fact of being the Bad Guy didn't bother him as much anymore. Although being thrown into the mud hasn't changed, it didn't make him feel undesirable like it used to in the past. He got up from the mud every time, picked himself up, and went on with the next round.

Mary and Nel went over to help the wrecker, with the latter giving him the usual "To Our Favorite Bad Guy" cake, with no chocolate. Just the way he liked it.

"Good job, everyone," Felix praised as he exited the Niceland building, pie in hand. He headed over to Ralph, who just completely righted himself to regard his partner and nemesis. Ever since the incident with a certain ex-racer, Ralph and Felix were closer than ever, especially after the latter married whom he dubbed a "dynamite gal," and the wrecker his best man. The Good Guy had to wonder: Who knew Ralph's "going Turbo" escapade would have positive results? If it weren't for him, where would Felix have been right now?

"_Tapper?_" Ralph nudged the handyman, causing him to stumble a little.

"You bet, brother. Just have to meet up with Tammy first. Hopefully I won't have to get past her men, especially Markowski. Him, Green, Kowaltski... They always play pranks. Like before our wedding day when they..."

"Threw you that bachelor party?" Ralph finished, wincing at the memory of that night. "With that exotic dancer?" And remembered it clearly, when Markowski and his men had thrown Felix a bachelor party and hired an exotic dancer, who had been one of the she-demons from _Celestial Wars_. And Ralph had known from that part of the party that things were doomed to head south that night.

And it certainly had, when the demon had danced and made suggestive moves toward Felix that even Tamora wouldn't dare to manage toward Felix, even used her dark charms on the Good Guy, which (to Ralph's surprise and relief) hadn't entranced him but had still made him a bit uncomfortable, making Felix nearly faint from the creature's staged advances. Ralph had been at the end of his rope after that, intervening and putting a halt to the act. Felix had been so grateful that night, even more so when they'd agreed not to breathe a word to Calhoun afterwards.

And continued to keep it secret.

"Let's just hope they won't be there this time, Ralph," said Felix. "Of course, Kohut's one of the only serious ones in the crew, so if he's standing in the way, it'll be easy. He supports Tammy and I, so I should be fine."

"In that case, I'm going to see if Vanellope's out of her game yet. I haven't seen her this morning. Wonder if she had some presidential things to take care of before opening time?"

"Who knows?"

...

"Aw, chin up, Taffyta." Vanellope patted her sister on the shoulder as they, Candlehead, and the other racers were coming out of _Sugar Rush_.

"How could I, Vanellope?" the strawberry racer whined, "I only got picked once today and came in fifth! I'm telling you, that kid was horrible!"

"Oh, stop being such a drama queen," Citrusella rolled her eyes. As being more mature than her cheerful twin Jubileena, she was a little less tolerant of Taffyta's dramatic tirades. "It's not like you haven't won before, Taffyta."

"Yeah," agreed Jubileena, "You can't win 'em all. There's always tomorrow."

"Just make the top nine again, of course," added Snowanna.

"As if she never does, unlike a certain pretty boy we know."

"Rancis? Please, there's always something or someone standing between him and the finish line."

"Which gets him tenth. Every. Single. Time."

"I feel a dance goin' on at _DDR_," said Snowanna, "Anyone wanna join me?"

"I could sure use a dance right about now," Candlehead said.

"And so does Taffyta," added Vanellope, giving the strawberry racer a little shove.

She sighed. "I guess you're right. Besides, I _do _need to take a load off. I'm in."

"Great. What about you guys?" Snow regarded Jubileena and Citrusella.

"We were thinking of going to _Burger Time_," said Jubileena, "Their burgers are calling my name."

"Right behind you, sis." Citrusella draped her arm around her twin's shoulder. "We'll see you guys later, then?"

"You know it," Vanellope gave the twins a thumbs-up as they headed off for the burger game. Then she regarded her sisters and Snowanna. "I wonder what Stinkbrain's up to?"

"Who knows?" Taffyta shrugged.

"Yeah," Snowanna agreed, "He's probably still in his game brushing himself off from the last round. Sometimes you wonder how many times the big guy gets thrown in the mud a day."

"Million-coin question there, Snow."

"Anyway, let's go! I wanna boogie the night away like you wouldn't believe it."

"Yep," Vanellope agreed, "Especially when there's..." The princess trailed off, stopping herself. _Should I tell them now?_

"There's what?" Taffyta inquired.

"Something...going...on..." Then Vanellope noticed Ralph coming out of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, brushing the remains of mud from the latest round. "Ralph!"

"Ralph?" Candlehead repeated, then turned to notice the wrecker. "Oh."

"Girl, you almost gave me a heart attack." Snowanna chastised, placing a hand over her chest in relief. "All that suspense for Wreck-It."

"How's it going, kid?" The Bad Guy caught up to the four girls, high-fiving Vanellope. "Haven't seen you this morning."

"Yeah, I was kinda...busy."

"President stuff this morning, huh?"

"Yup. Sour Bill told me something interesting too about our game."

"What?"

"Um, can we talk about it in _DDR_, cause I'm ready to get in there and boogie," Snowanna interjected, anxious to dance her heart out in the dance game.

"That is, if you want to join us," Taffyta added.

"But I don't dance," Ralph countered, "Plus, Felix and I were headed to _Tapper_, so.."

"I don't see Fix-It around." Taffyta glanced over the wrecker's shoulder to see no sign of the Good Guy around the station. "You, Candlehead?"

Candlehead shook her head.

"C'mon, Stinkbrain." Vanellope grabbed the "villain's" large hand, dragging him toward _Dance Dance Revolution_. "Don't be such a 'Sour Bill.'"

Ralph groaned. _What have I gotten myself into?_

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-It Ralph!**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 4**

"Tammy?" Felix knocked on the door of his wife's hut in _Hero's Duty_, lucky to have made it past the entrance of the first-person shooter game. Even though he married its lead character, the Good Guy still had a hard time adjusting to the dark atmosphere. Felix still found it a bit intimidating, seeing as Tamora had to deal with Cy-Bugs on a daily basis in-game as well as outside gameplay (provided of the deadly viruses were to break loose into Game Central Station like last time).

Getting past the entrance hadn't been difficult at all, as Kohut, one of the more serious soldiers in the crew, had been the one on guard, to Felix's relief.

"Tamora?" When the Good Guy still didn't get an answer, he peered through the window to see that the hut was empty.

"Fix-It! I didn't think we'd run into you. How're you doing?"

The handyman recognized the husky voice immediately. _Oh, boom_. He turned to see Markowski and three other soldiers approaching, grins on each of their faces, from which Felix knew trouble was right around the corner. He remembered last time's ordeal with the bachelor party-gone-wrong, and refused to repeat that experience.

"So? What are you up to?" Markowski asked all too cheerfully, the men behind him snickering.

"W-Why...?" Felix stammered, dreading what they were going to ask next.

"We were just wondering."

"Yeah," one of the other men agreed, "Just wondering."

"Wondering what?" The handyman inquired, "Another 'men's night?'"

At this, the soldiers burst into laughter, as if Felix had made a joke.

"No, of course not," Markowski said. "It's just a little...outing. Just us men."

"You should come with us, Fix-It," another of the three soldiers pressured.

"I was just looking for Tamora, and..."

"Don't be a wimp, Fix-It!" Markowski cut the handyman off. "Last time was just a fluke. We're not gonna let you get drunk again. Right, Green?"

"Oh no. We've learned our lesson last time," agreed Green, the shortest soldier in the group. "Besides, it was all Johnson's and Silverman's idea." He pointed to the other two on either side of himself.

"_I _sure don't want to get 'wrecked,'" Johnson, the soldier on Green's right, added. "But you sure looked like you enjoyed yourself at the party we threw for you before you and Sarge jumped the broom."

"I did _not_!" Felix blurted out, remembering every minute of that event, and couldn't help but imagine if Calhoun had found out, which would have meant game over for her men (and probably himself). Besides, the Good Guy doubted his wife had ever found out about that night, not that he wanted her to. It was too embarrassing for the handyman to even think about let alone mention to Tamora, causing his face to go as red as a Fire Flower every time.

"Aw, little guy's modest," Green taunted in a baby voice.

"Come on! If you're a real man to marry Sarge, then you're one to hang with us." With that, Markowski grabbed Felix by the arm, dragging him off.

"Yeah, especially when we have this place in mind," Green added, "And we're hitting it at the right night too."

From everything Felix just heard, he felt a knot forming in the pit of his code, knowing for sure that wherever the soldiers were planning to take him, it was going to be anything but kosher.

...

The second the _Sugar Rush_ racers and Ralph disembarked the train and set foot into _Dance Dance Revolution, _the music was pumping louder than the cannonfire in _Skies of Arcadia, _blasting their ears and welcoming them into the clublike atmosphere.

"I'd forgotten how rowdy this place could get after closing time," said Ralph, wincing whenever the speakers produced a little static.

"No kidding!" Taffyta shouted over the loud techno music. "But you get used to it quickly once you're in here long enough."

"I'm gonna go on ahead and get down for a while. Dance floor's calling me!" Snowanna headed off to the dance floor to join the other dancers. "Pres? You coming?"

"Only if Stinkbrain is." The princess darted a mischievous glance at Ralph, who was slowly backing away.

"Bad idea, kid. I told you, I'm not a good dancer. And besides, I gotta..." The Bad Guy started for the exit, only to be blocked by Taffyta and Candlehead, both waggling their fingers in objection.

"Not so fast, Wreck-It. You belong to us," Taffyta said, Candlehead snickering.

"But..."

"C'mon, Ralph!" Vanellope pulled the wrecker onto the dance floor, the latter growing more and more nervous by the second, accidentally shoving other dancers as they moved past.

"I still think this is a bad idea. I'm not good at dancing," said Ralph sheepishly.

"Hey, neither am I, but I just want to catch up on things with you, Ralph. You know, since I missed you this morning." Vanellope started to shuffle her left foot, followed by her right, moving along with the fast-paced techno beat.

"Yeah, about that..." Ralph followed along, albeit a little off. "What happened this morning?"

"Just some presidential stuff like you guessed earlier. Plus, Sour Bill didn't wake me up like he was supposed to."

The wrecker couldn't help but chuckle at this. What did he expect? The sour piece of candy was all work and little play, hardly caring about anything but his job description.

However, Ralph couldn't help but wonder what kind of things happened today. It must have been too important for Vanellope to ignore. Ralph wasn't going to pry too much into her royal life, though.

"Yeah, but what can you expect from a little sour 'cough drop' as you usually put it?" The princess/president laughed at this, along with Ralph, who stumbled and felt butt first, nearly causing someone behind him to trip. The Bad Guy glanced up to see Ryu from _Street Fighter II_ glaring down at him. The martial artist was dancing with his fellow fighter Chun Li.

"Watch it!" he snapped.

"Sorry, guys." Ralph picked himself up, brushing himself off. "Just tripped."

"You really have two left feet, don't cha." Vanellope giggled.

"I do _not_!" The wrecker blushed red at the joke, annoyed but also feeling relaxed at the same time. Ralph enjoyed laughing and joking with his "little sister," who had been the first one to look past his Bad Guy occupation, with Felix not being far behind. And that was what he liked about her. Then there was her smile, which fit her wicked sense of humor. It was charming, and it could probably find love for her someday. Someone who loved her for who she was. But Ralph knew she had a while for that. A _long_ while.

"But you know? I enjoy it. Being with the coolest friend in the world too? If I hadn't crash landed into _Sugar Rush_, we wouldn't have met."

"And King Turbutt would've still been in charge," Vanellope finished.

"Not to mention that I wouldn't have earned any respect from the Nicelanders. Felix, maybe, but not from anyone else in my game. Even after everything that's happened, Gene can still be a jerk sometimes."

"Yeah, but that never changes. I don't think there's even _one_ day when Mayor Stick-In-The-Mud is ever nice to you. Or is there going to be?"

"Who knows? Anyway, you gonna tell me what presidential stuff you had today? Anything new?"

"New?" Vanellope repeated, then glanced in all directions throughout _DDR_, as if looking for someone or something to distract her from the question. As much as she wanted to tell the wrecker now, she couldn't, at least not around the other patrons in the game.

"Hey, you know you don't have to..."

"No, I don't mind telling you about it, Ralph. We're friends and there's no secrets between us. It's just that..." But then, sudden anxiety started to course through Vanellope's code, causing her to glance around at the exit port, which was empty save for a few Bob-ombs hanging out. _I could've sworn there was something there a second ago. Or someone_.

"What's wrong?" Ralph asked, concerned.

Vanellope faced Ralph again, flashing him a smile. "Nothing." The princess's eyes fell back on the port. _Maybe it was just someone leaving. Or me. Well, what can you expect from not being used to leaving your game?_ _Besides, it's only been two months since the whole thing with King Turbutt, so I'm still sorta new to being outside _Sugar Rush.

"Hey, having fun, you two?" Yuni Verse, _DDR_'s main character, approached the wrecker and racer, moving to the beat. She noticed Ralph, "I see you got the big guy up and groovin' too."

"And he says he can't dance." Vanellope patted the "villain" on the leg.

"Vanellope." Ralph gritted his teeth, face beet red with embarrassment.

"Oh, admit it, Stinkbrain. You're a dancer. A bit clumsy, but you can dance."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The wrecker was still a little flustered at the compliment, but he loved how Vanellope was showing him a good time. And was doing it well.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Wreck-It Ralph!**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 5**

"That Markowski..." Calhoun disembarked the train from _Hero's Duty _to Game Central Station. She was enraged, having heard from Kohut that Markowski, Green, Silverman, and Johnson dragged Felix off. The sergeant (or Kohut) had no idea where her husband had been off to, but once she found her soldiers, she was going to make sure there was going to be hell to pay. Especially when Markowski and the others hadn't been present at drills, which was a pet peeve of Tamora's, as drills were always a must for her men. Who knew when a Cy-Bug would break out into the arcade.

Calhoun scanned the arcade hub, watching for any sign of Markowski or her husband, but saw no one around who looked like either of them.

_Where could they be?_ she wondered.

"You looking for someone?"

The _Hero's Duty_ lead turned to see two angel characters behind her. One was female, with long dark, curly hair, and the other was male with short, sandy blonde hair and a smile that never seemed to leave. It was almost creepy, as the sergeant raised an eyebrow at the too-optimistic-looking angel. But if they knew where Felix was...

"I'm looking for my husband Felix," said Tamora.

"Fix-It Felix, Jr.?" The male lit up, almost glowing with light, but then contained himself. "I saw him with four guys earlier."

"Where?"

"They went to some game on our side of the arcade." The female angel jerked a thumb behind her, indicating the side of Game Central Station where they'd apparently come from. "To _Fairytale Speedway_."

Calhoun thought about this for a second, wondering why Markowski would carry Felix off to _that_ game. And here she was expecting something worse. A racing game like _Sugar Rush_? Tamora knew she had to see this.

...

"That...was..." Taffyta slumped into one of the cushy seats in the corner of the room. "I forgot how much dancing could take out of you. Not as much as racing, I'll tell you that."

"Not lying there, kid," Ralph agreed, taking a seat next to Vanellope, who was next to Candlehead. "I nearly knocked somebody over."

"Don't you mean you _actually_ knocked somebody over?" The birthday racer corrected.

"Looks like you weren't kidding about the dancing thing, were you?" Taffyta said.

"But he sure had fun out there."

"And Snow's still enjoying herself, I see." The strawberry racer nodded to the vibrant snow cone racer still boogieing down on the dance floor and minglng with the other dancers.

"That's normal for her, Taffyta," said Vanellope, "She never gets tired. It's probably in her code. She's not called Snowanna Rainbeau for nothing."

"Sorry we're late, guys."

"Well, look who finally showed up." Taffyta and the others turned to notice Swizzle, Gloyd, and Rancis approaching their booth, having finally arrived after having waited for the latter. "What took you guys?"

"Rancis was looking for 'something'," Gloyd made air quotes. "He'd rather not say, though."

"Yeah, we had to wait a whole hour for him to find it." Swizzle added.

"Hey, it was important, okay, guys?" Rancis stuck out his tongue in annoyance, then glanced around. "Where's Snow?"

"Having a great time out there. Wait, what's she doing?" Candlehead glanced past the boys to see Snowanna flirting with Zangief, one of Ralph's fellow Bad-Anon members. Both were laughing at something Snow had said, the sherbet racer punching the fighter lightly in the arm before the latter headed off, chuckling in his heavy Russian accent. Snow turned to rejoin her group.

"Finally decided to take a breather, huh?" Vanellope nudged her.

"What were you talking to _him_ about over there?" Taffyta cast a glance to Zangief, who was on the other side with M. Bison from _Street Fighter II_ and Medusa from _Kid Icarus_.

"We were talking," Snow said simply.

"About what?"

"Stuff," Snowanna looked away, trying to hide her reddened cheeks, but Taffyta noticed.

"Sounds like something more than just stuff. Your face is red." The strawberry racer lit up. "You got a thing for him or something?"

"No!"

"Besides, Taffyta, don't you see a problem there?" Candlehead asked, indicating Snowanna and Zangief (who was with his group) for emphasis.

"Yeah, aren't we, like, twelve?" Vanellope reminded. "Well, we've been twelve for the past ten years, so technically we're twenty something."

"And that Zangief guy's at least thirty," added Rancis. "But we're still kids to everyone else, so even if he and Snow wanted it to work, it wouldn't. It's kinda like Vanellope and Wreck-It getting together."

"Not that it'll happen, of course!" The princess blurted out quickly, face beet red.

"Yeah!" Ralph agreed, face just as crimson. "Whoa there, kid!"

"I'm just kidding around, you two," Rancis chortled, waving them off. Swizzle and Gloyd joined in the laughter. "Calm down."

"Everyone! Attention, everyone!" Yuni Verse's voice blared over the intercom, snapping everyone to attention. The music's volume was reduced to a dull roar as the guests turned their attention to the _Dance Dance Revolution_ lead, who was on stage with Rosalina, Peach, and Daisy from _Super Mario Bros._, all waiting to speak. Once it was completely quiet in the club-like atmosphere, Yuni stepped off the stage, giving the trio the floor.

"Greetings, everyone," Rosalina greeted, "I trust everyone is having quite an evening so far. Forgive us for interrupting your festivities here but we come to _Dance Dance Revolution_ today with an announcement you all would enjoy."

"We've been to five games already." Daisy was heard whispering to Peach, which earned her a scowl from Rosalina before the galaxy princess continued.

"Anyway, we're here to announce the sixth annual Mushroom Ball. Yes, it's that time of year again."

As if on cue, two Toads rushed out to the front of the stage, rolling out an enormous banner reading _Come to the 6th Annual Mushroom Ball in_ Super Mario Bros. _and dance the night away!_

Murmurs were heard among the crowd, along with whispers of intrigue and interest.

The _Sugar Rush_ racers glanced at each other, not believing it was that time of year again already, when the three princesses of _Super Mario Bros._ planned their annual Mushroom Ball, where characters from every game was invited.

Of course, except for the _Sugar Rush_ racers due to age issues. They were never invited to formal affairs, or _Tapper_ after a certain time, or even _Hero's Duty_ much because of the atmosphere being "too dangerous for mere runts," as Markowski had put it one time. They wouldn't be surprised if they weren't invited _this_ year.

But the next announcement changed everything.

"And new this year, we're extending the invite to those who are programmed forever as children." Daisy stepped forward. "And you can thank the Koopa King himself for that idea."

"Especially when we want Monday night to be a success," added Peach.

"Looks like we can go too this year," said Vanellope, jumping up and down in her seat.

"And we have Bowser and his trying to get his eight little troublemakers into a party to thank for that," Ralph said, remembering a few of the times he'd seen the Nintendo Bad Guy try to sneak his oldest son Roy into _Tapper_ during adult hours...and had gotten kicked out for it. The wrecker had almost felt sorry for the kid that night.

"Finally," Taffyta sighed, "It's like we never get invited to anything."

"Because we're children to everyone," added Vanellope, "Does anyone not realize that our game's fifteen years old?"

"Which technically makes us older than we look," Candlehead put in.

"And that's why we need to take advantage of this opportunity," said Taffyta, "Especially when I can finally wear that dress I've been itching to wear for a while."

"Wish I had one."

"You can look through my dresses." Vanellope offered. "I'm sure you'll find one you can wear. Hey, I've got plenty of 'em. Came with my being President and all. And we can get Crumbs to work on them if we need her to."

"Girls..." Gloyd muttered, shaking his head at the four chattering girls.

"Oh, come on, Gloyd," Swizzle scoffed. "It's our first time being invited to _something_ for a change."

"That's right," agreed Rancis, "Plus, I'm kinda anxious to see how the ball's gonna turn out." _And what Vanellope might wear._ The peanut butter cup boy's eyes fell on the president, lost in the image of how beautiful she would be when the night of the ball came. He had a crush on her. A _huge_ one, and it had been like that ever since King Candy had been sent packing. And since then it was growing. That was when Rancis decided. He was going to ask her to the Mushroom Ball. It would be difficult at first, but Rancis felt that he could do it.

His only fear, however, was whether or not Vanellope would say yes.

...

"Now ain't this fun, Fix-It?" Markowski asked, snickering as he took a swig of what appeared to be whisky.

The soldiers and Felix were in _Fairytale Speedway_, at the town section of the racing game. In a small bar/inn called the Grimm Lodge, which was similar to _Tapper_, except for the fantasy atmosphere...and that the waitresses were the female racers of the game during after hours.

But what really added to the icing on that cake was that they were scantily dressed, with plaid miniskirts (each character had a different color) and green shirts that only went down to their bust lines. It was from that fact alone that Felix realized why Green had suggested this particular place.

And it wasn't just for the drinks.

Felix really needed to get out of there before his wife found out or who knew what she would do. The Good Guy glanced around for an escape route to the exit, nibbling on bits of the pie he'd ordered to avoid raising suspicion among Markowski and the soldiers, who were too busy staring at the fairytale figures. The former had his eyes fixed on Snow White, whose long, dark wavy hair flowed behind her as she was serving a drink to one of the other patrons. He and the men took a large gulp of their beers as their eyes were fixed on the princess's rear.

Felix, on the other hand, had his glued between his dessert and the exit, wondering how he was going to pull off an escape without Markowski and the men noticing. Luckily, the Good Guy had the advantage, considering that the four weren't the brightest of Calhoun's men. From what he'd witnessed so far in this racing game during after hours, it was a wonder what would happen if kids and/or Litwak were able to find out what went on in _Fairytale Speedway_ during after hours on Wednesdays. Felix doubted it would attract more gamers. It was supposed to be a family game, after all.

The Good Guy took one last glance at the still-distracted men, who were so engrossed in the sights before them to notice. Felix couldn't help but smirk. _Now's my chance. There's still time to find Tammy and..._

"Anything wrong?"

Felix was jolted back in his chair by the peppy voice of one of the waitresses-a dark-haired girl with red streaks. She had on a red plaid miniskirt and was only a foot taller than Felix.

"Um, no, nothing's wrong." He gulped, "The pie's good. Just like how Mary makes it back in my game."

"Glad to hear it," the girl smiled, "Baked it myself. You and Granny are on the same boat. I'm Red, by the way. Can't believe I forgot to introduce myself earlier when I first came over."

"Red?" Felix repeated, blushing. "As in...Red Riding Hood?" As he was taking in the sight before him, the handyman was finding it hard to believe that the developed teenage girl was supposed to be the little girl famously told in the fairytale among children. Felix had once overheard the story from two boys during a round of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._. But this was a game, and developers always had aces up their sleeves when they created their characters. It had probably been the same deal with Tamora.

"Who else would I be? Cinderella?" Red placed her hands on her hips in mock annoyance. "And for the record, I've never been in your game, let alone known anyone named Mary, Shorty. It must be on the other side of the arcade, isn't it?"

"Red?" A voice called from the other side of the inn, snapping the two out of their conversation. Felix and Red turned to see another teenage girl carrying what appeared to be a huge order to a table of ten in the corner. "We need you over here!"

"Coming, Gretel!" Red then regarded Felix somewhat apologetically. "Duty calls, Shorty. Wait, do you have a name? Unless you don't mind being called Shorty."

"Fix-It Felix, Jr., ma'am," replied the Good Guy, smiling bashfully. "From the game _Fix-It Felix, Jr._."

"Looks like I'll have to check out the other side of the arcade sometime, Felix. You're cute, too."

When Red left, Felix's face was burning so red he felt like he was going to explode.

_What am I doing?_ The Good Guy quickly shook his head, reminding himself that he was already married to a dynamite gal and loved her dearly...until game over did them part. Besides, Red was too young for him, despite being taller than him like Calhoun. Also, he had to get out of the bar.

"Who was _that_, Fix-It?" Johnson patted the small man on the shoulder, stopping his progress. The soldier's breath was saturated with beer.

"Oh." Felix looked down at the floor, a little flustered. "That was Red. You know, Red Riding Hood? Like the story?"

"We haven't heard of stories like that, Fix-It," said Green, "That's why we're asking."

"Wait, you haven't..." Then the Good Guy realized that _Hero's Duty_ was still one of the newer games, so they couldn't have heard of fairytales that have dated before video games themselves. Granted, _Fairytale Speedway_ had only been in Litwak's for a week, but were based off of said stories.

"Nope," Silverman chimed in in a slurred voice.

"But I'm sure we'll be hearing about it in a bit," added Markowski, "So tell us. What were you and Red over there talking about?"

"Yes, we'd like to know, Pint Size."

The men and Felix froze, then turned to see none other than Calhoun glaring down at them. It was most certainly 'til game over did them part.

But the how in that part of their vow could mean anything.

"Oh, h-hi, T-Tammy..." Felix stuttered, sweating and face beet red.

"Having fun, Fix-It? Don't mind me, I was just walking by." Then the _Hero's Duty_ lead's glare fell on the four men, who started to cower under her heated gaze. Tamora was already angered enough that they'd skipped out on drills, now she was beyond that upon finding out her husband had been dragged along for the ride.

"If it's about that girl over there, we were just talking. Besides, Markowski dragged me here." Felix pointed over to the cowering soldiers.

"W-We were going to give him back," Markowski stammered.

"I know you will." Calhoun smirked, which intimidated the soldiers even more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 6**

"All that dancing's tired me out," Taffyta yawned as she, Candlehead, and Snowanna exited _Dance Dance Revolution_. Vanellope and the others were right behind them as they were headed back to _Sugar Rush_ to rest up for the next day. Everyone knew dancing would tire one out (if that person wasn't Snowanna, of course). Candlehead was starting to fall asleep on Taffyta's shoulder, barely able to drag on the rest of the way.

"Candlehead, you are _not_ sleeping on me." The strawberry racer tried to lift her sister's head, but when she was like this, the birthday racer was dead weight.

"But I'm sleepy," the birthday racer whined. "And your shoulder's comfy."

"Vanellope, _you_ take her." Taffyta attempted to drag Candlehead over to the princess.

"No way, Taffyta." She took a step back, holding her hands up. "That's _your_ baggage." Behind her, Ralph and the boys couldn't help but snicker.

"Looks like Candles likes your shoulder too much, Taff," Swizzle joked.

"Oh, shut up." Then Taffyta noticed Snowanna still dancing, swaying her tiny hips and twirling to a nonexistent beat. "Um, we're not in _DDR _anymore, Snow."

"I know, but I can't help it!"

"You never seem to run out of energy, do you, Snow?" Vanellope smiled halfheartedly.

"Is it that obvious, Vanellope?" Taffyta said.

"Like you're one to talk," Ralph interjected, "All the candy and sweets in your game, there's no doubt about it."

"Anyone as ready to turn in as much as I am?" Swizzle stretched. "Another day of racing tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm a little tired out myself," agreed Gloyd.

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Sarge or Fix-It today," said Candlehead, trying her best to stay awake until they were back in their game.

"Probably playing some _game_," guessed Taffyta.

The other _Sugar Rush_ racers glanced over at the strawberry racer with confusion.

"Game?" Rancis repeated, not seeing her point.

"Yeah, Taff, what game?" Candlehead raised an eyebrow at this.

"You know what game. They do it all the time," said the strawberry racer as she and the other racers were headed back to _Sugar Rush_. Vanellope stayed behind, wanting to talk with Ralph for a few.

"I'll be on my way in a few, guys." Vanellope waved her friends off.

But Rancis stopped in his tracks, regarding Vanellope. "Vanellope?"

The princess froze, turning to respond. "Yeah?"

"Um, I was wondering..." The peanut butter cup boy was glancing down at his feet, unable to look Vanellope in the eye. On the track, Rancis was cool and collected. When it came to girls, however, it was a whole different story.

But one thing was certain: he really wanted to ask Vanellope to the Mushroom Ball the second the announcement had been made in _DDR_. The problem was, he froze up too easily.

"What?"

"Um... I need to..." Rancis was still struggling to get the words out.

"Hey, Rancis!" Swizzle called, "You coming?"

"You might wanna hurry; I think Swizz is paging you," Vanellope suggested with a grin.

"Um...it'll be nice if you get to the track on time tomorrow," Rancis finally said, blushing madly. He even dared a tiny glance at Vanellope. She was cute, and even more up close. Her brown and green eyes stared at him quizzically, which caused him to look down again. _This is gonna be tougher than I thought._

"I was getting ready to say the same thing," Gloyd interjected.

"Given that we haven't had our Random Roster Race yet," added Snowanna. "Which means getting there early."

"Hopefully Sour Bill will remember to wake her tomorrow," said Candlehead.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Taffyta waved the birthday racer off, "'Cause _I'll_ be the one to make sure Vanellope's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow."

The princess smiled at her sister. "Thanks, Taffyta."

"Oh, think nothing of it. Anything to protect our game, right? Anyway, I'm calling it a night. Don't be too long, okay?"

"Okay, _Mom_..." Vanellope said in mock annoyance. She appreciated Taffyta and the others looking out for their president. Protecting _Sugar Rush_ was as much their job as hers. Ever since the Turbo incident, they planned to keep it safe and crack down on any other viruses like him.

"What was that all about?" Ralph asked after everyone else had left and he and Vanellope were alone, aside from the continued bustling of characters throughout Game Central Station. "With that Rancis kid, I mean? He was acting a little squirrely there."

"No idea. Anyway, um, did you have fun tonight, Stinkbrain?" Vanellope asked "Aside from your stumbling and everything?"

"Yeah," the wrecker replied, "I did. So what if my dancing needs a little work." He chuckled.

"You didn't wreck anything. That's always a good note. And that ball those princesses are throwing on Monday sounds pretty interesting. I mean, we haven't been invited to anything like this, so I can't wait to see what it's like."

"Sounds like _Taffyta's_ pretty into it."

"Apparently, not that I blame her. Especially when this could be the only chance for a while. Hey, I remember that angel kid (adorable too) tried to get into _Tapper_ once during adult hours...and got the boot. Literally."

"Yeah, Pit sure had a sore behind the next morning." Ralph fought back a laugh, although he hadn't been there when that had happened. But he knew sneaky characters who were programmed to be teenagers like Pit from _Kid Icarus _had a knack for mischief and breaking the rules like any other normal teen. It was also almost sad, considering the many times Pit, Vyse from _Skies of Arcadia_, and sometimes Roy from _Fire Emblem_ had attempted such feats...and failed. "But it's good to know he and you guys can go to the Mushroom Ball this year. I'm sure you'll have fun, not that _I've_ been to one. I usually get the info of the night's events from Felix."

"What? You haven't been to a ball? You must be _really_ afraid to be in crowds, huh?"

"Huh? No way. I'm just not one for formal stuff, that's all."

"Riiiiight..."

"Really, kid, I'm not..."

"Okay, then. Don't say I didn't try." Vanellope started for her game, "But you might want to think it over in case you change your mind. Who knows, you might run into a nice girl there." The princess smirked back at Ralph, who scratched his head and blushed crimson at the thought of finding someone he liked at the ball. "Anyway, I'll see ya tomorrow, Stinkbrain."

"Right, President Fartfeathers."

"Bright and early, Admiral Underpants."

"And good night, Baroness Crumbsnatcher."

"Back at ya, Major Bodyodor."

With that, both characters were headed for their games, looking forward to the new day ahead of them.

Little did they or anyone know, however, a silhouette was looming in the far corner of the arcade hub, watching the racers and the wrecker with malicious amusement.


	7. Chapter 7

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 7**

The next day, Felix woke up with a start, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and glancing over at his bombshell wife sleeping next to him. They were in _Hero's Duty_, with Calhoun's arms wrapped around him, with no signs of letting him go. Not that he blamed her, after what she'd seen last night at _Fairytale Speedway_, where Markowski had taken the Good Guy for the "sights," which earned him, Silverman, Green, and Johnson guard duty for the weekend.

Felix, on the other hand, was dragged back to Tamora's hut, where the latter had asked him about the new racing game as well as making sure Markowski hadn't caused any further damage. To her relief and the handyman's, they hadn't intoxicated him, but there were more questions that followed.

Like Red Riding Hood, who, as the Good Guy had explained to his wife, just asked to see the rest of the arcade, but left out the part that _he_ was the one who was going to give her a tour after closing time today. But there was absolutely going to be no romance between them. There was only one dynamite gal he was loyal to, and Felix planned to keep it that way. Besides, Red was too...girly, not to mention young.

Also, Felix had a job to do, and he and Tamora had to get ready for it.

The Good Guy took one last glance at his wife, who was sleeping peacefully, mumbling in her sleep. Calhoun was like a goddess when she slept, which was a far cry from when she was awake and leading her men on a daily basis. Planting a kiss on her forehead, Felix slowly and quietly slipped out of her strong hold.

"Don't worry, Tammy," the handyman whispered, "We'll make up for yesterday, I promise."

...

"I've taken first in the last Random Roster Race, and I bet I can do it again," Taffyta bragged.

"Yeah, yeah," Vanellope struck a relaxed pose at her sister. It was the next morning, and, as Taffyta had promised, she'd taken over the job of making sure the president was awake, especially when they had to get the Random Roster Race out of the way before the arcade opened. Right now, she, Candlehead, and Taffyta were enjoying breakfast consisting of pancakes and an assortment of different toppings. Taffyta, of course, loved strawberries; her flapjacks were heaped with said fruit. Vanellope, on the other hand, just topped hers at random everyday. One day would be strawberries, the next day blueberries, and so on. She sometimes played that game to decide which toppings she liked the best. Though she hadn't decided, Vanellope loved playing it whenever Candlehead made pancakes.

The birthday racer was right next to her, keeping to herself and enjoying her breakfast until it was time for the race to determine who was going to be part of the day's roster. Candlehead could care less about Taffyta's constant bragging, which was continuing, but Candlehead was focused on her breakfast and not paying any heed to her partner in crime, which was rare for her, as Candlehead always listened to Taffyta.

"Did anyone not hear me?" Taffyta shouted.

"All _Sugar Rush_ heard you, Taffyta," Vanellope said, "And you don't have to rub it in, either."

"Especially when Vanellope let you win yesterday because she's won almost all of the Random Rosters lately," added Candlehead. "Don't think she'll do it again today."

"Whatever." The blonde racer rolled her eyes. "She won't have to. Speaking of races, we need to get down there." She jumped out of her seat, heading out, with Candlehead following suit.

"Princess?" Sour Bill came out of the kitchen, approaching Vanellope.

"Now? Really?" Taffyta complained, "Don't you know I woke her up as I said I would, Sour Bill? Just so we could get the race done in time before the first quarter alert?"

"Don't worry, Taffyta. Go on ahead." Vanellope waved, signaling for her sisters to go. She knew Bill wanted to speak with her alone about the upgrade.

"You'd better be there or I'm coming back to drag you."

"Yeah, right."

"We'll see." Taffyta smirked playfully as she and Candlehead left, leaving Vanellope and Bill alone.

"What's up?"

"It's more about the upgrade," the sour drop droned, "Litwak's just received the upgrade drive today and is installing it tomorrow before opening hours. During that time, nobody can leave or enter the game for twenty-four hours, which is the minimum amount of time for any upgrade to be fully integrated."

Vanellope was processing everything Sour Bill had just said, namely the twenty-four-hour installment period. They were basically trapped in the game for an entire day, along with any out-of-game characters who happened to stumble inside at the wrong time. Also, how were Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun going to react? Then there were the other racers, including Taffyta and Candlehead. How were _they_ going to react once Vanellope told them about the upgrade, which she planned to do before the arcade closed today?

_Unless they don't know _until_ it happens. _The princess devised, gears turning in her head as her mischievous side was taking over. She loved surprising others, and what better way to do that than to keep the upgrade quiet until it happened?

...

Meanwhile, Taffyta and Candlehead were pressed up against the doors of the dining room, listening in on every word of Vanellope's and Sour Bill's conversation. They'd heard quite a bit, and they knew it also explained why Vanellope had been so dodgy a few times yesterday when they'd asked. Especially when the president had returned for the night after talking to Ralph for a bit. Taffyta had grilled her with questions on why she'd been "busy," where Vanellope had, again, thought up an excuse.

Now she and Candlehead knew the reason behind it, and it was in the form of something that could affect _Sugar Rush_ altogether. The two girls were ecstatic, wondering what this mysterious upgrade was going to have in store for the game's residents. Excitement and anxiety were coursing through their codes with anticipation. Candlehead especially was having so hard a time keeping her uncontrollable excitement in check that her candle was starting to blaze.

"Keep it together, Candlehead," she urged, "We can't let Vanellope know we know about this."

"What? It's not like we're gonna tell the other racers," the birthday racer whined.

"Of course we're not letting them know...yet. We'll _ask_ Vanellope more questions in front of everyone else, and then she'll _have_ no choice but to 'fess up."

"Wouldn't that pressure her, Taffyta?"

"That's the idea! Make her run out of excuses. This is something everyone needs to know before it happens."

"Whoa, you're pretty intense," said Candlehead, taking a step back, knowing this was a little unlike her sister and made her wonder if Taffyta had entirely shaken off her fifteen-year-long habit of bullying Vanellope. "And a little sly as a Sneasel."

"I know." Taffyta grinned.

"Hey, guys, what're you still doing here? I thought you were at the track." Vanellope had just come out of the dining room after her brief conversation with Sour Bill.

"Oh, um...we just wanted to wait for you this time," the blonde racer lied.

"Yeah, you know, so we can all get there together and nobody gets lost?" Candlehead added, trying to contain her excitement as much as she could and not raise any suspicion in her president, but when the latter noticed her still-blazing candle, she knew something was up.

"Okay, what's going on?" Vanellope folded her arms in annoyance.

"I'm just...excited about the race today, that's all. Now let's hurry before the arcade opens."

...

It was the first quarter alert of the day, and everyone in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ started to take their positions as the first customer, a little boy, was preparing to play.

"I'm gonna wreck it!" Ralph roared as he started to wreck the Niceland building as per the program, albeit a little less forcefully than usual.

Felix noticed this too, glancing up at his nemesis/friend every few seconds between fixed windows and wondering what was up. The Good Guy was guessing that it had something to do with what the wrecker had been up to last night, only Felix hadn't met up with Ralph again until he'd returned to their game. However, he was certain that whatever was troubling the Bad Guy had something to do with Vanellope, considering how much the friendship between the two had been growing since the Turbo fiasco.

Suddenly, his thoughts were cut off by an abrupt _quack_. The next thing Felix knew, he was moved up to a higher window pane, well out of an oncoming duck's way. The Good Guy watched the fowl fly by, breathing a sigh of relief and silently thanking User that the little boy who was playing was more experienced than he looked. He took one last glance up at Ralph, who appeared to be staring off into space as the wrecker's body seemed to be in autopilot. _Ralph must've had quite a night. As if _I _hadn't had quite the night myself._

That was when Felix started to think about what he was going to do with Red, whom he'd promised to show around the arcade after closing. He couldn't just leave her hanging outside the _Fairytale Speedway_ port. That was unlike the Good Guy, but he'd promised Tamora a nice, quiet evening. And he did not want to let his wife down.

Unbeknownst to the wrecker and handyman, a figure was hiding in the garbage pile of bricks not far from the exit port of the game, watching Ralph and Felix as the round was playing on, though his yellow, catlike eyes were fixed more on the Good Guy with interest as he was planning his next move. Surviving the Cola Hot Springs through a backup file was only the first step, now he was just another step from executing the next part of his plan. The figure smirked, knowing his path to revenge was right around the corner.

...

"Watch it! These monsters become what they eat!" Calhoun instructed, leading the player, who was a teenage boy, through the gameplay of _Hero's Duty_, she and her men fighting off the endless wave of Cy-Bugs.

However, the sergeant's game was off today, as she couldn't get memories of last night out of her head, especially when she'd seen Felix talking with one of the waitresses of the new fairytale racing game. However, Tamora had only walked in on the tail end of the conversation, not having seen enough to come to any form of conclusion. Besides, from what the Good Guy had explained earlier, she had nothing to worry about, as it was truly unlike Felix to be turned on by another woman, let alone a character who looked like any normal teenage girl. Calhoun trusted her husband, as Felix did her.

Especially when she couldn't wait for whatever he had planned for her this evening, which Felix only had but almost ten minutes to briefly explain before the arcade opened.

"Sarge!"

Kohut's voice broke Calhoun out of her subconscious as she was suddenly brought back to the round, with the lab entrance opening and releasing more Cy-Bugs. She blasted away the many dozens of viral insects flying at her.

The player, however, was in a bind and obviously had been knocked off guard by the large swarm. The kid was trying his best to pick off the endless viruses, but it was to no avail, as they piled themselves on top of the screen, causing a game over and ending his short round.

"That sucked," the adolescent grunted, jamming the gun controller back into its holder. "I got farther than last time, though."

"All right, back to start position!" Calhoun commanded, as the soldiers who had died in the previous round regenerated.

"What happened out there?" Markowski asked.

"Yeah, it's like you spaced out for a second," Kowaltski added.

"Is that any business of yours? Besides, I'm fine!"

_"Quarter alert! Quarter alert!" _A voice blared throughout the game, signaling everyone back to start position.

"Let's hope it's not another sucky player," Green grumbled as he, Markowski, and the other soldiers headed back to the start.

Kohut was the last to head over there, as he glanced back at his commander with concern. Being one of the few who strongly supported Felix and Calhoun's marriage, he always felt the need to look out for his commander. Taking one last look, he followed the rest of the crew.

Deep inside, Calhoun wasn't fine, as she continued to think back on last night.

_That Red girl better not have a crush on MY husband!_ Tamora quickly returned her to full sergeant mode, knowing full well if such a thing were to happen, it wouldn't be pretty for the unlucky waitress.


	8. Chapter 8

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 8**

"I'm starving," Sticky said as she and the other racers pulled their karts in for the day. It had been a fairly quiet day for their game, with only a handful of gamers playing. The two teenage boys who were notorious for monopolizing the candy-themed racing game had been among the bunch, having played with all nine of the selected avatars, which included Vanellope, Taffyta, Candlehead, Citrusella, Sticky, Adorabeezle, Torvald, Swizzle, and-surprise-Rancis, until Litwak had had to intervene and send them on their way when other kids had wanted to play. For the most part, everything had been smooth sailing.

Vanellope had placed first about seven times (counting the Random Roster Race), with Taffyta scoring second a few times and third once (behind Candlehead). The princess was also a little hungry after a day's work, almost forgetting how much racing could take out of anyone. She was the last to hop out of her kart, joining her fellow racers, optimistic as ever.

"Great job today, guys, as usual," she praised, "And you too, Taffyta." Vanellope patted her sister on the shoulder.

"Yeah, for you," the strawberry racer muttered playfully, "Winning five times in a row earlier and twice before we closed." Then she draped her arm around Vanellope's shoulder. "But what can I say? There's always tomorrow.

"That's right," Candlehead agreed, "Anyway, we should worry about the ball."

"And what we're gonna wear."

"Good luck with that, Taff," Torvald said, smirking.

"Yeah, and I bet she doesn't even _have_ anything to wear yet, sis," Sticky snickered.

"Oh, I do," Taffyta retorted. "Or at least I will, once I pay my closet a visit. And Vanellope, Candlehead, you're helping me."

"Typical Taffyta," Vanellope sighed.

"Well, I'm gonna go catch up with Adorbs." Nougestia started to head off, "She might want to check out that Mushroom Cafe in _Super Mario Bros._ today. She loves the Zess Cookies, which are only available on Thursdays."

"As long as we're back before opening hours tomorrow."

"Duh. As if we'd stay out past that time. Unless we want to deal with a stuck-up Surge Protector."

"Why are you so worried?" Citrusella asked, studying the princess with concern. "Something going on?"

"Yeah, Vanellope," Taffyta cast her sister a smirk. "What's going on?"

Vanellope fumbled for a response, wanting so badly to tell them about the upgrade, but didn't know how.

"Wait, I get it. We're having the Random Roster Race in the mornings now. Like an hour before the arcade opens. Is that it?" Torvald inquired.

"Um, yeah," Vanellope lied, "Since we get so tired after the day and all, I figured, well, why not hold them in the morning now?"

The yellow recolor nodded, while the other racers just stared in puzzlement at their princess, which made Vanellope a little anxious in her chest.

"Hold on," Taffyta interjected, "What's _really _going on, Vanellope?"

"Yeah." Candlehead stepped forward, joining in on the conversation. "You've been dodgy yesterday and this morning, Vanellope. Tell us."

"Wait, you two know something we don't?" Citrusella asked.

"You can say that." Taffyta grinned. "And nobody's going anywhere until Pres. fesses up." Then, regarding Vanellope, "Well? Spill it. We're waiting."

The lead character glanced among her fellow racers, all waiting for the truth. She knew she was backed into a corner. Everyone, especially her sisters, were on to her now, which didn't leave her much choice.

"We're getting an upgrade tomorrow."

Silence fell among the group, looks of either awe and/or plain confusion crossing some of their faces. Others only held blank expressions, trying to process what they'd just heard. And it was from those reactions that Vanellope knew this was going to be a long conversation.

...

"Good game today, dear?" Felix asked as he and Ralph joined Calhoun at _Tapper_, taking a seat at one of the bar tables next to her. The Good Guy jumped up to plant a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"If you could say that," the sergeant muttered, "I thought the line around my game would never end. Seriously, the kids kept coming."

"Our game was pretty quiet today," Ralph said, "Only a little boy and girl. The girl didn't make it past the first level."

"The boy made it easily, which was surprising. He must've been playing _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ a lot. But you, Ralph, seemed out of it today," Felix noted, remembering how he'd noticed Ralph spaced out and not wrecking the building as fiercely as usual. The wrecker had been so absorbed in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed Felix appear, making the Good Guy wonder all day what had been distracting him.

"I was?"

"Sure looked like it, brother. And I know there's something bothering you just from noticing that. So what is it?"

"I was just off my game today, okay?" Ralph threw his large arms up.

"I know it's more than that, Ralph, so tell me."

"I already told you, Felix. What else do you think it is?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you've met a girl last night in _DDR_?" Felix guessed, grinning with interest.

"What? No!," Ralph said defensively.

"Really? Your mind had to have been on something, brother."

"Come on, Felix. I just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Where's the runt?" Calhoun wondered. "Haven't seen her or any of her friends come out of their saccharine-saturated game yet."

"She probably had more things to take care of before she left. Knowing Vanellope, it's probably just a little chit-chat with the cough drop or her subjects. You know, presidential stuff. With the ball coming up in four days, I wouldn't be surprised."

"What ball?" Calhoun inquired.

"You don't know? The Mushroom Ball? Princess Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina throw it every year," Ralph explained. "Vanellope and her band of cavities are invited this year."

"The Mushroom Ball..." Felix remembered, having been to the event since his game was first plugged in. He hadn't had a love interest then, usually mingling with the Mario Bros. "It's a little early for them this year. They usually start around November."

"Well, I'm the last to know about it," said Calhoun, "Seeing as I was in that fairytale game trying to rescue you from your new friend, Short Stack."

"Come on, Tammy. I barely know Red. Aside from her wanting to see more of the arcade. Besides, _y__ou're_ the one I fell in love with, Tamora." Felix planted a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Plus, I have something planned for you back in my game tonight."

"I'll hold you to that." The sergeant scooped her husband up like a mother caring for a small child. She kissed him back, sending him into Calhoun-induced honeyglows. "And you're going with me to find something for that ball. We _are_ going, aren't we?"

"Um... yeah. Of course, dear."

"You know there's this game next to _Sonic the Hedgehog_ you can go to," Tapper interjected, cleaning a few mugs and staying on his toes for the evening rush.

"Really?" Felix was interested.

"I heard that Stella in _Fashion Trendy_ is renting out dresses and tuxedos for the event." The bartender slid a root beer down to a waiting patron. "That Liz girl from _Celestial Wars_ came in here from that game yesterday with a nice blue dress. And I gotta say, even the Surge Protectors are having a hard time keeping their eyes on her, but she's got Alec to keep those wandering eyes in line. His tux looked too tight for him. Guess he likes showing every muscle. Hey, if Stella could work with them, she can obviously work with you guys too."

"We might check the place out, then." Calhoun smirked.

"I just remembered," said Felix, "I have something I need to do. Don't worry, I'll be at _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ tonight to meet you." The Good Guy hopped out of Calhoun's arms, heading for the exit. "You go on ahead and check out _Fashion Trendy_ and let me know what they have. I'll see you tonight, dear."

"I wonder what he has to do that's so important?"

"Maybe another surprise for you?" Ralph inquired.

"I wouldn't put it past him, Wreck-It. But one thing's certain: I'd better see him tonight." Calhoun rose from her booth, heading off toward Game Central Station.

When the sergeant was gone, Ralph sighed, knowing it was going to be a long few days until the ball.


	9. Chapter 9

**Before I start, I've been seeing a couple of readers un-faving and/or un-following.**

**And it could mean: a) they're too impatient with the story or b)they're just too lazy to read more. And yes, it's more likely the former. Readers get anxious to know what's going to happen next and they want to get to the good stuff. But then they're disappointed when the next chapter's just a piece of filler. And the one after that, and probably the one after that. I've had this happen twice already in my fic, and it just hurts me that there are some who are not patient and don't ****give stories a chance. It's just like original fics. The story's not going to have two people meet each other and then BANG the two are in love. For example, it was a nice day in Sugar Rush and then BANG Ralph and Vanny are in love, or Turbo comes along and then poof Felix becomes a virus. I'm sorry for the ones who are in a hurry to see the real juicy stuff, but building up a plot TAKES TIME, which is at least 6-11 chapters. I'm not rushing this story, but the chaos is right around the corner. And I'd like to thank the other 12 who are still following for sticking with me.**

**I know I'm repeating myself but I feel I should let everyone know: YOU CAN'T RUSH ART! (Toy Story reference, I know)**

**So the next time you fave or follow a story, or before you decide to un-follow, consider how much time and effort the author has put into it. And if you DO decide to un-follow, well...you don't know what you're missing. But please, and this is with other stories/novels too, GIVE IT A CHANCE! **

_**And I can't imagine how many have just disregarded that.**_

* * *

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 9**

"So we're getting an upgrade, huh?" Jubileena said. She, Citrusella, Crumbelina, Taffyta, Candlehead, and Vanellope were still in _Sugar Rush_, hanging out in Taffyta's bedroom in Sugar Castle. The strawberry racer was searching through her closet for an outfit for the ball in a few days.

"Yep," said Vanellope, "But we still don't know how it will affect the game." The princess had explained everything Sour Bill had told her, from the upgrade being applied opening time to the mystery of how it would affect _Sugar Rush_. It had taken a few moments for some of the racers to drink it in, while others had been filled with excitement at the sound of an upgrade.

"Are you sure it's not going to be a virus?" Jubileena asked, still a little frightened. "What if this upgrade makes us weak against crazy viruses?"

"Like _him_," Citrusella added bitterly.

"Aren't you guys a ray of sunshine?" Taffyta's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Anyway, what do you think?" The strawberry racer pulled out a pale pink dress from her closet. It was a simple gown, with strawberry vines around the collar and sleeves. She held it out for the other girls to see. "But going back to the upgrade, nothing's gonna to happen to us."

"Easy for you to say, Taffyta," Candlehead said, taking a double take at the plain dress, knowing that it could use some work. The others, however, beat her to the punch.

"You want the truth, Taffyta?" Citrusella raised an eyebrow at the dress. The blueberry recolor had a tendency to be brutally honest, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Especially when it came to the blonde racer.

"It needs work," Jubileena pointed out, "Crumbelina-type work."

"What?" Taffyta looked at her fellow racers in bewilderment. "What's wrong with it?"

"We're not saying it's ugly, Taffyta," Vanellope said, "You'd look nice in it, but Crumbelina can improve it, I'm sure."

"Or we can go to _Fashion Trendy._ You know, find one there. There's plenty of time, so I'm sure Stella has some dresses our size." Candlehead suggested.

"I'm happy with this one, though," Taffyta whined. "Unless Vanellope's willing to let us raid her closet."

All eyes fell on the princess, knowing the latter had a closet full of dresses, which came with her position as Princess.

"That's right," Candlehead agreed.

"W-Whoa..." Vanellope slowly backed away, a glitch running through her body.

"You _did_ say I could look in your closet." The birthday racer smirked, candle flaring in excitement.

"I...I..."

"Oh, come on, Vanellope. It's not like you're wearing any of them," Citrusella interjected.

"And we have Crumbs to fix them up to our liking," added Jubileena.

"At this rate, we're sure to have something in four days," Taffyta said as she headed out of her room. The others followed. "We should also celebrate our coming upgrade tonight."

"H-Hey!" Vanellope tried to stop her fellow racers, blue binary again coursing through her in embarrassment. Though it was true that she didn't wear her dresses much, that didn't mean they could help themselves to her outfits.

Besides, Vanellope still had to find a dress herself for the Mushroom Ball. And she had a feeling that that was going to be difficult now.

...

Felix was waiting outside _Fairytale Speedway_, glancing up at the enormous clock in the center of GCS, which read eleven. The Good Guy had promised Calhoun an evening alone at one, which gave himself two hours to show Red around the arcade. Felix continued to remind himself that there was nothing going on between them. It was strictly tour guide and newcomer.

"You came!"

Felix jolted, turning around to see Red skipping toward him. She looked a far cry from how she'd been dressed yesterday, with her long red hood and short plaid red dress. It still caused the Good Guy to blush, but quickly regained his composure, only maintaining eye contact.

_You're married, Felix! Don't forget!_

"So? Ready to get started?" Felix asked, trying to hold his poker face.

"Absolutely!" Red jumped up and down in excitement. "Where to first, Fix-It?"

_Not _Hero's Duty_ or _Sugar Rush_,_ the handyman thought, fearing that there'd be raised suspicion if he dared taken her in either of those games. Especially when Markowski and Vanellope had big mouths. Then a thought came to mind, giving Felix an idea of where to start.

"How about _Skies of Arcadia_ first?" _That way, I can pass her off to Vyse. He's a cute guy, and _her_ age. _He_ can show her around the rest of the way. I know it's wrong, but I really don't want to let Tammy down tonight._

...

_This one isn't too bad,_ Calhoun thought, posing in a black, two-piece halter dress. She was admiring herself in the mirror of the fitting room of _Fashion Trendy_. Though Felix wasn't able to be with her to judge, the sergeant was certain whatever she decided on would blow the Good Guy away without making him faint. Tamora knew the Good Guy was weak-kneed and considerably easy to knock off his feet. Her dynamite appearance had been making him swoon, not to mention given him honeyglows ever since they'd first met. Especially in a swimsuit whenever they were in Koopa Beach in _Super Mario Bros., _where Felix's stare had been on her almost the entire time. It showed that he loved her dearly and there was no he'd rather be with, including when it came to someone for her to calm down after arcade hours and dealing with her men on a daily basis (specifically Markowski). Despite his bashful and slightly cowardly exterior, Felix served as her stress relief. Her opposite. The light to her dark.

She glanced at the other three dresses hanging on the rack by the mirror, sighing and knowing she was only wearing one to the ball.

_To hell with this_. Tamora grabbed them up, stepping out of the fitting room as if on a mission. She would rent them all and get a solid opinion from Felix.

"Ah, you're here too."

Calhoun froze in surprise, turning to find herself face-to-face with Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina. _They must be looking for something too for the ball. I'm not surprised. They're the ones throwing it, after all._

"Fix-It must've told you about it," Daisy said, smirking down at the sergeant's dress choice. "And I can't say that those are sure to knock his socks off, even the hammer too. Wish I could say the same thing about Luigi and I."

"It's nice to hear that you two are attending," Rosalina said, nodding in respect, "We hope to see you and Fix-It Felix, Jr. on Monday, Sergeant Calhoun."

"Yes! Besides, not everyone in the arcade knows you two are married," added Peach.

"There's the guys from _Celestial Wars_, _Fire Emblem's _only been here for two weeks, and of course there's _Fairytale Speedway_..." Daisy trailed off.

_That's right! They were just plugged in too, which means..._ Calhoun tuned out the flower princess's rambling, dreading the fact that Felix's little friend from the game didn't know about their marriage, and on top of that maybe take advantage of it. She had to find her husband and fast, and if she was lucky she'd run into Red as well. Tamora refused to let her get too cozy with Felix. Quickly bidding the three princesses farewell, she checked out her selections, and raced out of the exit port, leaving the trio with blank and confused expressions.

"Someone's in a hurry," Peach said.

"Maybe because a Cy-Bug got loose?" Daisy inquired jokingly.

"Don't sputter such nonsense." Rosalina gave Daisy a sharp look, not finding her wisecrack the least bit humorous. "You do realize those creatures are no laughing matter."

"I was just kidding, geez. It's not like Turbo's coming back to screw stuff up again."

Suddenly a glitch started to ripple through the game, causing the racks of clothes to shake.

"What in the world?" Peach wondered.

"I've not the slightest idea," Rosalina said, glancing around. Then she noticed Stella, the lead character, flee out of the backroom in a panic (which actually led to the code room).

"We need to get out of here!" the proprietor urged.

"What do you mean?" Then Daisy noticed the disintegrating setting behind her, which only meant one thing. "Litwak's pulling your plug?!"

"That's the thing! He hasn't! I don't know what's going on, but we need to get out of here!"

"Right. Hopefully Sergeant Calhoun isn't that far ahead yet. Maybe we can catch up to her and warn her!" Rosalina started for the exit port, with Daisy, Peach, and Stella on her heels. But when Stella made contact with the exit, she was repelled.

"Stella!" Daisy glanced back at the proprietor, then noticed a barrier around the exit that was keeping Stella in.

"What the..." The proprietor tried to push through, but it was to avail.

"But you're not a glitch!" Peach pointed out, then she saw the entire game disintegrating into nothingness, along with Stella.

"Someone's behind this!" Rosalina guessed, running over to Stella to try to pull her through. But the barrier was relentless, and Stella was almost code.

"Just go! Go get to that Calhoun or Surge!" The proprietor urged.

"What's going on?"

The princesses turned to see Calhoun behind them, realizing that the sergeant hadn't made it too far.

But it was too late, as _Fashion Trendy_, along with Stella, was no more.

"What in the hell? Why didn't she leave with you three?"

"That's the thing: she _couldn't_!" Peach explained, "And she wasn't a glitch, which doesn't make sense. And about the game itself, Litwak didn't pull the plug."

"Besides, the port's still here," added Daisy.

"Someone or something probably _turned_ her into a glitch," said Tamora, remembering the _Sugar Rush _incident as an example. "Just like Turbo did to the runt."

"But Turbo is very much deceased," Rosalina noted.

"I didn't say this could be his doing this time. Who knows, it could be some sort of virus in this game."

"Or maybe the game's on the fritz, which might explain why it wouldn't let Stella leave the game, causing her to glitch. It _is_ a 1995 game, after all."

"Either way, Surge needs to be aware of this."

**Since I'm way ahead in handwriting this, I'll have double updates every week. As I said above, please give this story a chance before you decide to un-follow. And review if you can.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 10**

"So this is your game, huh?" Red and Felix was exiting the Niceland building, having been through every floor and meeting the Nicelanders. Especially Mary, who had enjoyed having the fairytale figure around. And as Felix guessed, the female Nicelander had been tickled pink that she met someone who was good at cooking like she was. "Another thing I've noticed," Red continued, "Everything in here kinda looks...simple, you know?"

"Well, Ralph and I have been around for thirty years, so..."

"Fix-It! There you are! Been looking all over for you!"

_Oh..._

Recognizing the voice immediately, Felix turned to see Calhoun approaching, who was relieved to see that he was okay. Then the sergeant's expression quickly changed to slight irritation at the sight of Red. _Jiminy jaminy, this is _not _good at all! _The Good Guy glanced from Red to his wife, feeling a little tension coming from the latter.

"What's going on?" Red inquired, confused.

"Something consumed that Fashion-whatever game and now Surge wants everyone to evacuate their games until the arcade opens."

"Must be something big," Felix guessed, "Does anyone know what it is?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm certain it's not a Cy-Bug that got loose again. Anyway, we need to go."

"Sarge, there's a problem in our game!"

Everyone noticed Kohut coming from Game Central Station, disembarking the small trolley before it even came to a stop. He wasn't panicking, which made him Tamora's second-in-command, but he appeared serious.

"Kohut, what's going on?" the sergeant asked.

"We just found out that there was an intruder in our game during arcade hours today. Kowaltski did a check on all of the cameras in the game a few minutes ago and noticed someone who wasn't supposed to be there. Neither of us could tell who it was, though. We need you to see it right away." Kohut then noticed Felix and nodded. "Fix-It."

"Hi, Kohut." The Good Guy smiled sheepishly, shifting a bit. Though the second-in-command wasn't as intimidating as Tamora, the handyman was still a little shaky.

"I'll have to check out those videos," Calhoun decided, "In the meantime, is everyone out?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kohut nodded.

"Fix-It, you need to get the dwarfs out of here."

"I'll help too," Red chimed in.

"No, Red. You go with Tamora and Kohut," said Felix.

"Besides, you're not from this game," the _Hero's Duty's _lead stated firmly. "If something happens, and you're caught in it, you stay dead."

"Um, don't _you_ fall under that category too, blondie?"

That was like a slap in the face, but it was true. It was beside the point, however, as Tamora was already starting to grow irritated with Red. The latter's game had only been plugged in for a week and Red already thought she knew it all.

"Look, Tammy's right. Besides, she's been around longer than you. You're still trying to know your way around Game Central Station let alone one game, so please cooperate. I can get the Nicelanders out, and you get to the Station and make sure everyone in your game's okay."

Red sighed, darting a glare at the sergeant, who smirked triumphantly. "Fine."

* * *

When Calhoun, Red, and Kohut got outside to Game Central Station, there was even more drama and madness afoot. Shouts and curses were heard as the residents were hounding the Surge Protector with questions.

"What the hell's going on?" someone roared.

"Yeah, what gives?"

"Tough crowd, huh?" Red was glancing around at the angry characters.

"No kidding," Calhoun agreed.

"Hey, Sarge!" Vanellope, followed by Ralph, pushed through the crowd to join the three, carrying what appeared to be cotton candy and a large plush Yoshi. "Thought we'd never find you through this crazy crowd. Ralph and I were in Pinna Park in _Super Mario Bros._ until we had to leave."

"Where's Felix?" the wrecker asked, glancing around, then noticed Felix coming out of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, with the Nicelanders, and the bonus level characters not far behind.

"Everyone's out, Tamora." Then Felix noticed the raving crowd. "Oh my lands."

"Yeah, Felix, it's apparently a riot," Red stated, "And they're crazy."

"We can see that," Gene said, arms folded.

"I wonder what's happened?" Deanna glanced around the mob.

"I don't know, but we need to quiet it down." Calhoun pulled out her pistol, ready to bring order to the hub. "All this panic's not helping anything. And Surge isn't really doing well at calming this crowd." The sergeant nodded over to the hologram at the front, who was still trying futilely to tame the rioting characters. She raised her pistol, firing it upward.

The entire arcade fell silent, with all eyes on Tamora, who was headed toward the front of the crowd.

"Alright, pussy-willows, you all need to stop the panicking," she ordered, now in full sergeant mode, "Because it's not helping your cause!"

"And firing your gun isn't quite what I call helping either!" A Hammer Bro. in the front retorted, shaking his hammer at Calhoun. When he saw the business end of her pistol in his face, he backed into the crowd. "N-Never mind..."

"That's what I thought." Tamora faced the crowd again. "I know you're all panicking like a bunch of Togepi, but you must keep your heads as we get through this and find out the cause of this. My second-in-command believes he's found something that might be connected to what happened to that fashion game."

"And _Frogger_!" A Toad shouted from the back.

"Wait, there was another game?" The sergeant whispered to Surge.

"Indeed," the hologram replied, "On Tuesday, to be exact, _during _arcade hours. _Fashion Trendy_ was the second."

_So that changes everything. Whoever's doing this has been planning for a while, obviously._

"Did you hear all that, Stinkbrain?" Vanellope asked, jumping off her perch on Ralph's shoulder.

"I know _I_ did," Gene interjected, "And it doesn't sound good."

"Someone's had a lot of time on their hands to plan this," the wrecker guessed, "I mean, there's no way anyone could bring down two games overnight. Whoever's behind this has been spending _plenty_ of time plotting."

"And they probably weren't alone in it, Ralph," Felix added.

"Wait, you think it's more than just one person doing this?"

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions, Brother, but that _could_ be the case." The Good Guy shrugged. "Who knows, _Frogger_ and _Fashion Trendy_ was probably their way of saying hello, which means it could get worse later if we don't get to the bottom of this."

"But we need to find out _who's_ behind this first," Vanellope reminded, then noticed an empty spot in the corner of her eye. The princess turned around to see that Red was nowhere to be found. She glanced around the crowd of characters, then saw a silhouette moving along the wall of _Fix-It Felix, Jr. _

_Okay, creepy. But it could be the diaper baby who destroyed those two games._ With that, Vanellope started after the shadowy figure, quietly sneaking off to the 80s game's port while the adults continued to talk.

"You don't suppose what happened to those games was an inside job, do you?" Gene asked.

"We don't know, Gene," Ralph said, "But we do know that their plugs weren't pulled, so..." The Bad Guy froze mid-sentence when he noticed Vanellope gone from his side. "Kid?"

Felix and the Nicelanders glanced around, looking for the _Sugar Rush_ lead.

"She was right next to you a second ago," Deanna wondered. "Where'd she run off to with this huge crowd?"

"She must've headed off to try to meet up with Taffyta and Candlehead," Felix guessed.

Ralph glanced over the crowd, searching for any sign of Vanellope or the other racers. After a second, he noticed what appeared to be a candle moving in the back. The wrecker fought his way through the tight gaps between the other characters, hoping he would find the princess with her friends, excusing himself as he went. But when he got there, he found that the "candle" was just an enormous Podoboo from _Super Mario Bros. _and a few Waddle Dees from _Kirby_.

"Hey! We're walking here!" The Podoboo complained when it saw Ralph.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else. I was looking for Vanellope von Schweetz. You've seen her come this way?"

The Waddle Dees shook their heads in unison.

"You got your answer, now move it, you big ape!" The _Mario Bros._ baddie shoved its way past Ralph, singeing the latter in the process. The two Dedede followers were behind it.

Ralph patted the small flame on his shirt sleeve. "Okay, then..." The Bad Guy sighed. _Seriously, where'd she run off to in this crowd?_

...

Vanellope quickly disembarked the trolley of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, staying on the silhouette's trail. The princess made sure to remain quiet as the figure entered the Niceland apartment, but not before Vanellope noticed a little tuft of dark-blond hair and the slightest hint of a creepy smile revealed by the building's light.

_Okay... not even you-know-who looked as creepy at that. But what is this guy planning? _

The princess continued to tail the intruder, following him/her into the apartment and watching as the figure entered the elevator, pressing down. Vanellope felt blue binary coursing through her body, knowing there was only one room that was below the Niceland apartment.

_Sweet mother of monkey milk! _Vanellope realized what the figure was planning to do, and it had everything to do with the code room. She knew she had to catch the intruder or who knew what he/she would do to _Fix-It Felix, Jr._

Taking the elevator down to the basement, Vanellope saw the figure make a sharp left. She followed, stopping in her tracks when she saw the figure ready to punch in the code.

"Who are you, you creep?" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the hooded figure.

"And here I thought I was alone," it said, a Southern drawl to his voice. It turned a little to regard Vanellope, that creepy smile still crossing his still-obscure face.

_This guy's freaking me out right now._ The racer thought. Then the next thing she knew, Vanellope was blinded by a flash of light, shielding her eyes from the strong blaze. When it faded, and her eyes recovered, the figure was gone.

_What the...? Where'd he go?_ The princess wondered, glancing around the hall. Suddenly, she felt a conk on her head, causing her world to go black.

"Sorry, sweetie, but Mr. Candy said there can't be any witnesses to this," the hooded intruder said, placing a hand on Vanellope's head and emitting a stream of energy into her mind. He smiled at his handiwork, ensuring that his tracks were covered. There was only one more thing to take care of. He turned his attention back to _Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s _code vault, sneering and knowing he was going to enjoy this.


	11. Chapter 11

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 11**

"Kid?" Ralph disembarked the trolley back to _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, with Taffyta and Candlehead behind him. After he'd found them and told them that Vanellope had run off, the two racers jumped to action to find their president.

"Vanellope?" Taffyta called. "Vanellope, where are you?"

"Maybe she's in the apartment," Candlehead suggested.

They entered the Niceland apartment, glancing around the low-ceiling lobby for Vanellope and checking every level for the princess. After they checked the penthouse, the last place they would think she would be at a time like this, the trio decided Vanellope was nowhere to be found.

"I don't think she's here," Taffyta guessed, checking the second floor one more time but found nothing. "Maybe we should check _Sugar Rush_."

Suddenly, a _thud_ was heard, startling them.

"What was that?" Candlehead pulled Taffyta closer in fear.

"I'm not sure," Ralph said, then his glance fell on the elevator, "It sounded like it came from the elevator, though." The wrecker approached the machine, which looked like it was going awry as it was moving up and down erratically.

"Looks like _someone_ was here," Taffyta guessed as she pressed the up button. But the elevator kept going.

"Someone's _definitely_ been in my game," Ralph said, "And did a little tinkering around while they were at it." He punched the elevator door open, but the machine still kept going, with a familiar passenger inside. The candy-coated hair was too hard to miss. Vanellope was lying in the elevator, unconscious.

"Vanellope!" Candlehead gasped. "Wreck-It, we gotta get her out!"

Ralph nodded, then grabbed one of the elevator wires, pulling the cabin inside the lobby. He scooped Vanellope out and into his arms, then examined her. "She's fine, thank User."

"Good," Taffyta sighed.

"But what about whoever else was in here?" Candlehead gestured to the now-totaled elevator. "It didn't jam itself, so someone had to have been in here besides Vanellope."

"And Vanellope was probably trying to stop him or her. And that person probably had something to do with what happened to _Frogger _and _Fashion Trendy_."

"Maybe," Ralph shrugged, "But I doubt we're gonna get anything about this until Vanellope comes to."

"Yeah," Taffyta nodded, taking the lead racer out of the wrecker's hands. "Whoever it is, though, they're not getting away with this."

"You're _real_ intense, Taff." Candlehead took a step back from her sister.

"Hey, nobody's gonna conk my sister and live, okay?"

...

Opening time was approaching, and Mr. Litwak was setting up for the day, which consisted of the usual rush of kids that came in regularly everyday. That was what he loved about the arcade, because it reminded him a little of _his_ childhood (a love of playing video games). Also, it kept them off the streets and out of trouble.

The arcade owner glanced up at the clock, which read eight-thirty, then his eyes fell on _Sugar Rush_.

_Almost forgot_. He reached into the drawer in his desk, pulling out the disc that contained the upgrade to the candy racing game. It had finally come yesterday morning, and as much as he had claimed that the game was better off without the upgrade, it was required.

Heading over to _Sugar Rush_ and popping open a slender hatch, Litwak placed the disc in. The owner watched as the racing game's screens switched to loading bars.

"I don't know what this upgrade has in store for you, old girl, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll get more kids to play. But between you and me, I'll always love the non-upgraded version of this game."

Mr. Litwak then turned to all of the other games in the arcade, smiling. He cared for all of his games, even if they were to be unplugged one day. He was proud to share his love for gaming with the kids and adults who came in on a daily basis. "Though I don't know all the details of what you guys do during closing, I know you all do your best to keep me in business." The arcade owner then stopped at _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, patting the cabinet. "Especially you, Ralph and Felix. Where would I be today without you two? You are the ones who started it all, being the heart of the arcade for thirty years. And I want you to keep it up, okay? Countin' on ya."

...

"W-Where am I?" Vanellope wondered, glancing around to realize she was in her room in Sugar Castle.

"I see someone's awake," Taffyta said, skipping into the room, with Ralph and Candlehead behind her. They all sported relieved looks as they found the princess awake. "Good thing Surge let us back in our game early."

"What happened?" Vanellope sat up, head reeling.

"We found you knocked out in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._," Candlehead filled in, "In an elevator gone haywire. Who were you following in there, Vanellope?"

"Elevator?"

"You were knocked out in my game, kid, so you had to have been following someone to have a reason. Remember? We had to evacuate our games, and then you ran off in the middle of the rioting."

"Yeah, Surge had to quiet everyone down," added Taffyta, "Then Sarge had to get involved to tame the riff-raff. Don't worry, I heard the bullets."

"I remember that," said Vanellope, trying to remember what had happened after that. But the more she tried to, the stronger it was blocked off from her. "But what happened after that?"

"You don't remember anything after that?" Ralph raised an eyebrow. "How hard did the guy hit you?"

The princess shrugged, still at a loss to what the wrecker and her sisters were talking about.

"I know someone who can help Vanellope," Candlehead chirped.

Ralph and Taffyta turned to the birthday racer.

"Who, Candlehead?" The strawberry racer inquired.

"Kenneth," the birthday racer replied, "One of the angels in_ Celestial Wars_. He's a healer, so maybe he can heal Vanellope. You know, help her remember what had happened last night in your game, Wreck-It."

"Wait, I know you're not talking about the guy who never stops smiling, Candlehead. 'Cause he creeps me out big time."

"But if it's gonna help us find out what happened with Pres., what choice do we have?"

"Unfortunately, it's gonna have to wait until closing time, girls," Ralph reminded, "Arcade's opening in a few."

"Um, we're _in_ our game, Wreck-It," Taffyta retorted, "_You're _the one who's gotta hurry. And just to let you know, we probably won't be able to see Kenneth the Creeper until tomorrow."

"Why not? Don't you want to help Vanellope?"

"We do, it's just that..." The strawberry racer's eyes suddenly fell on the president's window, where she noticed a loading bar in the screen part of the sky. "Okay, now you really have to get outta here." She shoved Ralph toward the door.

"Why?"

"It's complicated, okay? Now go!"

The Bad Guy was rushed out of the room, with the door slamming behind him. He glanced back at it, wondering what their hurry was.

_Why do we have to wait for tomorrow to get the answers? Whatever Vanellope saw yesterday might help us catch our guy. Something must be going on in this game for them to not be able to leave it at all today._

"Wreck-It Ralph?"

Ralph noticed Sour Bill at his feet, appearing as bored as ever as he was apparently going in Vanellope's room. The tiny adviser was also wondering what the wrecker was still doing in the game.

"I was just leaving, Cough Drop. Vanellope's fine, don't worry." _As if he ever _does_ worry._ The Bad Guy hurried off, not wanting to keep anyone in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ waiting.

...

It was fifteen minutes before opening time, and Calhoun and Kohut were glancing through the camera shots of yesterday's gameplay.

"Which one was it?" The sergeant inquired, quickly scrolling through the scenes, most of which only showed herself and the many soldiers following gameplay. But then she stopped when she saw something odd in the previous shot. Tamora scrolled back, then examined the scene.

"That's the one." Kohut nodded as he and she took a closer look at the green-tinted screen. "Though I can't tell who _that_ is." The second-in-command pointed at a shining blur in the screen right beyond the first-person shooter.

Calhoun adjusted the camera, zooming it in to clear the obscurity a little. The mystery person was armored, which threw her off.

"It's not one of our men," Kohut pointed out. "And that thing in his hand... we didn't notice that the first time we checked the shots."

Tamora closed in a little more, then let the scene play a little. That was when she noticed it. Pausing it again, the sergeant knew exactly what it was. It was some sort of basket. She knew only one person who carried a basket, and that person had been toured around by Felix.

_Her..._

_..._

The new day started as normal after everyone was allowed back in their games, and _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ was already accumulating a line as a little girl was ready to play.

"Quite the crowd this morning," Mary pointed out, amazed by the cluster of children.

Ralph appeared on cue, roaring his programmed catchphrase as he started to wreck the Niceland building.

"Now the little guys are gonna call Felix," a little boy, the girl's brother, instructed.

"I know what I'm doing, Sam!" the girl wailed, darting a glare at him.

"Sorry," he sighed.

"Fix it, Felix!" the Nicelanders cried.

"I can fix it!" The Good Guy exclaimed, grabbing his hammer and proceeding to fix the broken windows.

But as soon as his hammer touched a window, it didn't mend.

"What's going on?" the girl wondered as she moved Felix up to another window, where the same thing happened. The broken windows weren't being fixed, no matter how many times she hammered on the button. "You said Felix can fix the windows, Sam!"

"Felix?" Gene whispered, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," the handyman replied, continuing to follow the controller's movements. "It's like my hammer's not listening for some reason."

It only grew worse from there, as Felix felt his pixels separate, red binary coursing through his body.

"Felix!" Ralph noticed the Good Guy's suddenly just below him. "Did you just...?"

"I..." Felix started, glancing down at himself.

"Mr. Litwak!" The girl called, and the owner came over.

"What's the trouble?"

"Something's wrong with the game," the boy named Sam pointed at the screen, where Felix was breaking periodically into pixels.

"And he wasn't fixing the windows like he was supposed to," the little girl added.

Litwak took a look at the '80s game, noticing the Good Guy acting erratically, just as the kids explained. He'd had a problem with the game before, so it was nothing new. It was an old game, after all.

"This hasn't been the first time this has happened," the owner said.

"So, what's wrong with it?" the little girl asked.

"Let me take a look at it and I'll call the technician to see if he can fix it. In the meantime, try another game, okay, kids?"

The kids groaned, but complied as they scattered out to try other games.

"What's going on with you?" Litwak murmured, examining _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ with confusion.

...

_"Attention! The arcade is now closed!" _The intercom boomed throughout _Hero's Duty_.

"Alright, ladies, you're all free to go until opening time...except for you, Markowski. You, Green, Johnson, and Silverman!" Tamora glanced pointedly at the four men near the first-person shooter, one of them slowly regenerating.

"Wh-Wha...?" Green shook his head, just recovering from his brief death.

"In case you've forgotten, you four are on guard duty this weekend."

"Yeah," Silverman muttered, "All because we smuggled Fix-It into that fairytale game Wednesday."

"Talking back, are we, Silverman?"

"N-No, ma'am. W-We were just wondering where we were guarding this weekend."

"Yeah," Markowski agreed, "Besides, we all feel bad already for stealing your husband without your say-so, so we're willing to guard wherever you want us to, ma'am."

"No need to worry about that," Calhoun assured them, "I know exactly where to put you all."

The four men gulped, not liking this one bit. They knew their sergeant was going to make sure they were punished enough.

...

"What was up with you today, Felix?" Ralph asked. He and Felix were exiting _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ After the incident in the first round, the day had gone south from there, due to Felix's erratic movements and the surprisingly-faulty hammer. Neither Ralph or the Good Guy had any idea what it was, but it had been enough to bring attention to Mr. Litwak, who thankfully hadn't deemed the game out of order.

"I don't know. My hammer wouldn't listen to me for some reason today. It wouldn't fix windows or anything."

"And then you glitched."

"Glitched?" Felix repeated, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"You were on the bottom floor one minute and then you ended up just below the roof. Yep, I would say that was glitching."

"What? That's silly, Ralph. I-It w-was..." Felix felt the same sensation from earlier course through his body. "Jiminy jaminy..."

"You did it again!"

"But...I'm not a glitch." The Good Guy looked down at himself. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to leave the game. Maybe this is a one-time thing, you know?"

"But it happened twice."

"Felix, hey!" Red dashed toward the two men, throwing herself at Felix in a hug.

"Hi, Red." The Good Guy gently pushed the teen off of him. "I'm guessing your game went well today."

"Nope. Well, I _did_ win second place once and fifth a few times today, but I've placed worse before. I'm just glad to be out of there, that's all. Hey, there's always tomorrow."

"Wow, that's what I call optimism. Unlike us today."

"Whoa, what happened? Did you get killed by ducks or something?"

"No," Felix replied, "My hammer was on the fritz today for some reason."

"Really?" Red gasped.

"And he glitched too," added Ralph.

"That...sucks. Did your game go out of order?"

"No, nothing like that, thank User," Felix said, looking away from Red in embarrassment. "It's probably just a one-time thing like I told Ralph."

"Surely it didn't top those same two guys who monopolized our game today. Gotta say they're really good racers."

"Were they those guys who always hog _Sugar Rush_?" Ralph inquired, remembering how often he'd seen the same two nerds take over the candy racing game. "Because I saw them come in but wasn't able to play it today, so they had to have an alternative."

"Speaking of _Sugar Rush_, I wonder what's going on with it today." Felix glanced at the port to the racing game, its port empty and pitch-black. No one was coming out.

"You got me on that one. It looked like it was loading something today." The Bad Guy remembered the loading bars he saw on _Sugar Rush's _screens during one of today's rounds. Was the game going through some sort of maintenance?

"Fix-It! Wreck-It!"

The two men and Red noticed Calhoun approaching.

"Good game today, Tamora?" Felix jumped up to kiss his wife, but soon realized from her serious expression that her day was the least of her worries.

"We need to talk." The sergeant then noticed Red, casting a dirty look. "Just the three of us."

"You don't mind, do you, Red?" Felix gave the young girl an apologetic smile. "It's sort of important."

"Go ahead." Red shrugged. "It probably has something to do with all the stuff going on now. And it apparently hit _Hero's Duty_. Good thing it's not mine."

"Okay..." Ralph trailed off, no comment whatsoever on how thorough Red was just now as he, Felix, and Calhoun headed off.

_I can't stand that...that..._ Red couldn't finish the thought, glaring at the departing trio, specifically Tamora. _What does Felix see in her, anyway?_

"Someone's about to blow a short fuse." A Southern-accented voice with a bit of mock sympathy was heard.

"Kenneth..." the fairytale figure sighed, noticing the healing angel from _Celestial Wars_ appearing behind her, the seemingly-never-ending smile on his face. He was around a foot taller than Red, with dark blonde hair, blue grey eyes, and an almost pale complexion. She couldn't help but wonder he could be so happy everyday. Red rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed about his sudden appearance, which meant he wanted updates on what she was doing. "You know that smile creeps me out."

"Sorry, Ms. Riding Hood." Kenneth bowed slightly. "I'm just happy to finally leave my game for the day, that's all. Or should I say, Liz's game." He huffed at this, knowing about the lead angel of _Celestial Wars's _popularity. It annoyed him to no end, especially after only a year in Litwak's Arcade. He'd never taken a liking to the Angel of Reason, which fueled his never-showing anger even more.

In the end, however, he always hid it with a smile. "It's not easy being in a game where you're not the main character." Kenneth slumped on one of the small benches nearby, his smile faltering a little, then restored its brightness. "But you know? I'll feel even better when that gift takes effect. You know, the one I placed in little Fix-It's code, just like Mr. Candy ordered." The angel chuckled, bouncing a little and causing his wings to rise and fall rapidly. "So what about you? You've done your part, I'm guessing?"

"Oh, don't worry." Red waved Kenneth off dismissively. "I'm planting my part right now. Burn and Whiplash did their parts, apparently. Usually those twins are as slow as a Squirtle on a racetrack. But they succeeded, considering Game Central Station is on high alert now. Putting two games out of commission and raising suspicion was pretty smart of them, but mine will be the icing on the cake when Monday night comes along." The young girl smirked, imagining the guests running scared and in a panic at the ball.

"It should be, Ms. Riding Hood, especially when the Mushroom Ball's still on schedule, except with heightened security," said Kenneth, grinning and starting to burst with light.

"Stop that!" Red shielded her eyes. She couldn't stand it when the healer did that. Sometimes she wondered if Kenneth was _too_ happy.

"Sorry," the angel laughed lightly. "Sometimes I can't seem to control myself. Oh, and just to let you know, I got Juniper to make your dress for the ball." Kenneth grinned again. "It should be done tomorrow. She may be a siren, but she's an expert at fashion too."

"Thanks, Ken. Now go tell Mr. Candy everything's gonna be in place."

"You got it!" Kenneth saluted, then flew off, leaving Red to her next phase.

The fairytale figure dug into her basket, pulling out the Cy-Bug egg she'd smuggled out of _Hero's Duty_, glancing around the arcade until she found the _Super Mario Bros._ port. Red smiled wickedly, knowing that Monday's Mushroom Ball was going to be the night of everyone's life. Literally.

_And I want to be there to see it._

**Sorry this took so long to post. I have my beta-reader to look over every chapter before I update, so that it'll turn out well. Anyway, look forward to the next chapter and read and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sometimes I feel that reviewing should be compulsory whenever someone follows and/or faves...**

**I understand faves and follows tell you that someone is reading the story from afar, and enjoys it all the same, but sometimes I need a simple review just so I know what I'm doing right as well as what I would need to work on. It doesn't have to necessarily be every chapter. And I know there are those who review regularly, and give me good hints/suggestions, it just bothers me a little when a writer gets 10 or more followers and faves (like me sometimes) they only get one or two reviews per chapter despite putting so much time and effort into their story. And I know I'm not the only one who goes through this.**

**Also, it really annoys me when a fangirl/boy comes along with a story that has bad spelling, bad grammar, etc, but then gets a boatload of reviews, faves, and follows simply because he/she's fulfilled the dreams of many fangirls/boys like them. Which leaves the authors who have actually put time and effort into theirs in the dark.**

**And I'm not being ungrateful or begging. Far from it. Ungratefulness is demanding through threats of not updating anymore, and begging is saying "please review" a hundred times in a chapter. And I'm definitely not like that. It's just been an issue that's been bothering me for a while with a few of my stories, and again, I know I'm not the only one out there. And sometimes, if it's a good story-a REALLY good one, and it doesn't get a lot of reviews b/c people don't feel like it or are just plain lazy, then the author loses confidence and stop writing. ****Or worse, it gets deleted altogether. And it's disheartening that it comes down to that. Even an "I like this" or "Keep up the good work" can definitely make a writer's day, and it lets him/her know that there are fans who are striving to read more.**

**Therefore, the next time you fave or follow a story, consider how much time and effort the writer has spent into it.**_**Sometimes a fav and/or follow just isn't enough.**_

* * *

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 12**

"Red was _where_?" Felix inquired, looking incredulously at his wife. He, Ralph, and Calhoun were in _Tapper_, where the _Hero's Duty's _lead had just started telling them what she had seen in yesterday's camera shots of her game. The Good Guy was taken aback by Tamora's suspicion of Red, knowing there was no way the young girl would commit such a crime and not get caught by Surge."

"Kowaltski was going through the camera shots of our game, and I found a soldier leaving my game..._during_ game hours and with a basket that looked exactly like your little friend's."

"Wait a minute, her game was just plugged in, so she doesn't know what 'going Turbo' is," Ralph interjected. "Not that I know her well enough."

"She obviously does, seeing as she knew how to disguise herself and everything."

"But Red's too girly for all of that, Tammy," Felix countered. "She's too sweet and innocent. Plus, I don't think she would have the time. She's still learning her way around the arcade."

"Well, it seems she's learning fast. Or she might not be working alone."

"Tamora..." Felix's tone hardened. "You're not jealous of Red, are you?"

"What? Impossible."

"Is it? All the accusations you're throwing at me about her say otherwise."

"Everything I'm saying is true, Fix-It, whether you believe it or not. The little teeny-bopper isn't who you think she is. She's planning something!"

"Or she's probably being used," guessed Felix, "I mean, Red breaking into your game doesn't make sense."

"Fix-It... you don't know this girl well enough to assume anything."

"And neither do you, ma'am. And for the record, I seem to know her better than you and Ralph have."

"I've only met her once, and that was in yesterday's little evacuation, so..." The wrecker trailed off.

"Exactly." Felix folded his arms, making his point clear. "Either way you look at it, Tamora, you don't know her enough to prove anything."

"Look." Calhoun clenched her fists, trying her hardest to get her husband to listen. "I'm trying to save you here, Fix-It..."

"I don't want to hear anymore, okay?" Felix snapped, red pixels coursing through his body.

"Did you just...?" Tamora nearly fell out of her booth by her husband's sudden flash.

"Did I just what?"

"You glitched again, Felix," Ralph pointed out. "You did it earlier too, and, apparently, it's more than just a one-time thing. We probably need to get Dr. Mario to check it out."

"I'm fine, guys," the Good Guy insisted. "Seriously." But then he glitched again, this time a few inches away from his wife and the Bad Guy.

"Not a chance, Short Stack. You're going to _Super Mario Bros._ to get checked out." Calhoun reached for her husband's hand.

"I said I was fine! I don't need to go see Mario!" he shouted, loud enough to draw attention from the other customers in _Tapper_. Felix glared up at his wife, already annoyed with her accusations.

But Tamora found something...off. Namely his eyes, which were burning crimson as he stared her down. Never had the sergeant seen Felix like this. It was almost unsettling as she thought about it. Ralph was just as taken aback as well.

"Felix?" The wrecker reached toward him. "Are you okay?"

The handyman blinked, eyes returning to their sapphire hue.

"Ralph? What...?" he wondered.

"Now we _definitely_ need to get you to Dr. Mario." Calhoun grabbed Felix by the collar, dragging him off toward the exit port.

"Come on, you two! You can't be serious! Besides, whatever's going on around Game Central Station is more important than some glitch feeling I keep having."

"Nice try." The sergeant grabbed Felix by the arm and dragged him off. "You're going and that's an order, soldier." Her word was final, and she wasn't taking no for an answer. Tamora was worried about her husband and his new glitch ailment, hoping it was merely a cold of some sorts. However, it didn't change the fact that something serious was starting to unfold, and she had to find out what...starting with Red.

...

"Finding a spot for that thing took forever," Red groaned, exiting the _Super Mario Bros._ port. Her hands were dirty from the digging she'd been doing, and she herself was also drenched from the Mushroom Kingdom's fountain. The teen wanted so badly to take a shower but, unfortunately, she had to meet up with Kenneth, Burn, and Whiplash near _Kirby _again.

"Hey, Red!"

"Gretel...hey." She noticed the brown-haired girl running up to her, nearly tripping. "What's up?" Red then glanced past the other girl to notice one missing. "Where's your brother?"

"Hansel's at _Burger Time_ with Alice." Gretel jerked a thumb at a far portion of Game Central Station. "They were wondering if you wanted to tag along."

Red looked down at the shorter girl intently, noticing the hopeful look in Gretel's eyes that was somewhat pleading for her to go. But she couldn't; there was no time.

"Maybe later on, okay? I'll catch up to you guys. First I need to get something done. See you later?"

"What's this 'something?'" Gretel inquired, bouncing closer to her. "Maybe I can help."

"It's really important stuff you wouldn't understand, okay?"

"Is it with Ken?" Gretel's head was cocked to the side in curiosity. She was always interested in details, especially when it involved Red's recent encounter with Kenneth. As far as the young tween knew, Red and the healer had been meeting up a lot within the past week.

"It's not with Ken, don't worry." Red, on the other hand, tried to force her best smile toward the programmed twelve-year-old. And here she thought Gretel's behavior had been annoying the first day they were in the arcade. Sure, there were some good parts about it, which made Red and Gretel almost like sisters. The latter was always a curious girl, wanting nothing more than to follow Red around and stick with her every minute.

But now wasn't the time, as Red couldn't have Gretel with her whenever she dealt with business involving Kenneth and the Turbo Twins; Gretel would definitely sell her out #by accident or otherwise#, even if Red were to hold Gretel above one of the lava pits in Bowser's Castle to make her keep the secret.

And it wasn't that she cared much whether or not Gretel were to find out. Red despised almost everyone in her game, besides maybe Wolf, who'd been concerned about her like a big brother would. But it didn't change the fact that she'd never gotten first in a single race.

"Then what is it?"

"Gretel, come on!" Red snapped, making the other girl jump a little. Gretel had never seen the older girl blow up on her. Especially not on the first day at Litwak's. So why was she acting this way all of sudden?

"Okay, then. Must be _really _important." Gretel wasn't hurt by the turn down, but was a little disappointed and shaken by the sudden outburst. She couldn't help but take another tiny glance at Red, whose eyes seemed to take on a slight yellowish hue. Were they always yellow like that? The tween shook her head at this, passing the strangeness off as some kind of stress Red was going through. "I'll catch you later." She headed off in the direction of _Burger Time_, which was on the other far side of the arcade.

When she was gone, Red snorted. _Seriously. And she thinks I'm _really_ going to show up? Yeah, think again, brat. I've other pies to bake than to deal with you. Especially when you can get a little too annoying for me sometimes._

Red headed to the _Kirby _end of Game Central Station, where other games such as _The Legend of Zelda _and _Pac-Man_ laid. She glanced around to see if there were any spying eyes, then walked through a wall next to the _Kirby_ port.

At the same time, two Waddle Doos were leaving the game itself and noticed the odd wall portion. What they found interesting was the girl walking through it. Especially her eyes, which suddenly became gold and catlike.

"You saw that, didn't you?" one asked, pointing at the faux wall.

"I ain't blind, Stewart." The other folded its small hands. "It's probably one of those things Surge installed."

"But that girl walked into it, Theo. Maybe she works with the Surge Protectors?" Stewart's large eye widened with interest.

"Who knows?" The Waddle Doo named Theo shrugged. "But that wall still freaks me out, not to mention those eyes. Those things looked kinda familiar, you know?"

...

"He seems-a okay," Dr. Mario murmured, examining Felix thoroughly. Ralph and Calhoun had to drag the Good Guy all the way to _Super Mario Bros._, despite Felix's protests. The doctor was able to see him immediately.

"But he was glitching earlier," Ralph countered. "And acting strange."

"Oh, come on, you guys. I told you, it was probably a one-time thing," Felix insisted, but then he sputtered. "I-I'm f-fin-ne n-now-w." Red pixels coursed through his body as it had been earlier. The Good Guy looked down at himself, confused, "Jiminy jaminy."

"Now do you believe us, 'Stachio?" Calhoun jerked a finger in her husband's direction, proving her point.

"That's-a strange-a, then," Dr. Mario said, then regarded Felix with concern. "How long-a has this-a been happening?"

"It started today," Ralph spoke up. "During the first round of our game."

"Yeah," added Felix, glancing down at the white, sterilized floor of Mario's office. "My hammer wouldn't fix the windows or walls like it was supposed to. And then I found myself glitching all of a sudden."

"One minute he was at the bottom floor and then the next he was just below me and almost paid for it. After that, it happened a few more times today."

"Like-a now, apparently." Dr. Mario rubbed the bottom of his nose. "Then it's-a probably not a one-time a-thing."

"What could it be, Doc?"

"It-a could-a be a simple cold, where a-glitching is a usually a sign. But you a-said something about a-Fix-It's hammer being on the fritz-a, so it might-a not a-be a cold."

"So, what do you think it is, then?" Tamora demanded, "You're being cryptic here."

"Unfortunately, I don't-a know, but I _can_ a-suggest that you check-a Fix-It's a-code and see if you can a-find the source of his-a condition there. It's-a obviously a-something foreign."

"Okay, we will, Doc." Ralph nodded as he, Felix, and Calhoun started to leave.

"And I'll still-a see you at the ball a-Monday, right?" Mario asked, all formalities absent from his tone and smiling hopefully at Felix.

"Don't worry, Mario. We'll be there," the handyman waved, assuring the Nintendo Good Guy that he would be okay. "This is probably nothing. Surely it's just something in my code that we need to fix."

"Let's hope that's all it is," Calhoun murmured, but when her eyes fell on her husband's hammer, she noticed some of the gold hue fading. This raised her suspicions all over again, along with the idea that the hacker was still at large and, apparently, had already hit _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, which made checking the Good Guy's code a serious must. Especially when she had a guess at who it could be.

"Fix-It, Wreck-It, you two go ahead by yourselves and check the code room."

"Where are _you_ going, then?" Felix asked.

"I need to go check something out. I'll catch you two later." _After I see what Little Red Bimbo's hiding. I know she has_ something_ to do with those two games, and now may have gotten to my husband. After I do a little _breaking and entering_, he'll have to believe me._


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 13**

Ralph and Felix returned to their game, taking the elevator down to the code room in the hopes of finding the answer to the Good Guy's odd condition.

"Hopefully we'll find something in your code that's connected to whatever's happening to you," Ralph said as he punched in the code, opening the vault.

"You think it's Turbo?" Felix inquired, half-joking and half anxious. He knew there was no possible way that the evil racer who had caused the arcade grief would return. Especially after his fiery death.

"Don't be silly, Felix. He's dead."

"It was just a guess, brother." The handyman shrugged.

"You two be careful in there," Mary warned, tethering Ralph while Deanna tethered Felix.

"W-we w-will," the Good Guy promised, then he glitched out of the tether, suddenly appearing behind the two Nicelanders.

"F-Felix! Sweet mercy!" Mary gasped, a hand to her mouth.

"I don't know how to control it." The handyman raised his arms in defense, red binary flashing through him, giving the same sign that it was getting worse. He glanced up at Ralph, fear in his sapphire orbs. He hugged himself, trying to keep from freaking out.

"I'll check then," Ralph said. "You stay here, Felix."

"No! It's _my_ code, Ralph!" The Good Guy snapped, glaring at the Bad Guy, which was frightening Mary and Deanna and causing them to jump slightly. Neither could find any words for their hero's sudden change in behavior. "Well, what are you waiting for? Tether me again!"

"Felix!" Ralph whirled on his best friend/nemesis, then was taken aback when he noticed the same red from before in the handyman's eyes. The wrecker stared at him in slight fear, knowing he definitely needed to check those codes.

"Felix..." Mary clasped the Good Guy's gloved hand in her small ones. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" The handyman glanced around, the crimson in his eyes gone. "W-What happened?"

"You snapped again, Felix," Ralph reminded. "I know it's getting worse."

"I did? I...but how?" Felix's voice was broken up again. He glanced down at himself, grabbing his head.

"That's why I need to check your code by myself. Mary, Deanna, look after him."

The former nodded. "Be careful, Ralph." She was clearly worried for her Favorite Bad Guy.

The wrecker entered the pitch-black void of codes, floating through the cluster of panels until he reached Felix's code, which seemed to be flashing erratically from the rest. Ralph touched the panel, opening it to reveal the many stats and equips of the handyman. He scrolled through each one (his hammer, his hop ability, etc.)...until he stopped at an odd red patch, knowing he'd never seen anything like it.

_Where did this one come from?_ The Bad Guy wondered, reaching for it. But as soon as he touched the patch, he felt a cascade of crackling red energy course through his body. Ralph pulled away quickly, massaging his hands from the shock. _Sweet Mother Hubbard, d__efinitely not part of Felix's code,_ he realized.

"Ralph? Find anything, brother?"

"Felix!" The "villain" nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the Good Guy's voice.

The handyman floated up to him, tethered by Deanna. Then he noticed the red patch. "Oh my lands, what _is_ that?"

"Exactly, and I don't know where it came from or who installed it. But I know it might be what's causing your code to go a little crazy."

"Maybe I can try to fix it." Felix pulled out his hammer, smiling with confidence. "I mean, I've fixed and healed myself before, so why not my own code?"

"But your hammer's..." That was when Ralph noticed the Good Guy's hammer losing its golden hue. "Felix! What happened to your hammer?"

"My hammer?" The handyman examined his trademark tool, noticing part of it turning white. "Jiminy jaminy! What happened to it?"

"Maybe if you fix your code, it'll go back to normal?" Ralph guessed, though not entirely certain.

"Well, I can try." Felix moved up to the odd patch, but when his hammer made contact with it, the patch didn't fix itself. Instead, he felt the same energy Ralph had felt, except it didn't deliver a nasty shock. The Good Guy was given a sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt. The unknown energy coursed through his code, granting him some form of strength he hadn't known existed. Felix couldn't place how, but for some reason he liked it. He pulled away, regarding Ralph with a cocky smirk.

"Felix, are you okay?" the Bad Guy asked, eyebrow raised at the Good Guy.

"I'm fine, Ralph." The shorter man said, head cocked to the side, which disturbed Ralph a little. "For some reason, it didn't hurt but my hammer didn't fix it." The small man gestured to the still-red patch. "And I felt something else, too."

"Felt what?"

Felix shrugged. "I don't know. I feel...stronger somehow. Like it's some sort of upgrade. Don't you think?"

"But that still doesn't explain your glitching or your bizarre behavior, which you're kinda showing now. This thing in your code can't be a good thing, Felix."

"I'm not saying it is, Ralph," Felix protested, trying to keep his tone even.

"I know. But the fact that you can't fix it makes it a huge issue. I'm telling you, whoever did this to your code knew what they were doing. Which is why you need to get a hold of yourself and focus." _And I know this won't be the last time they'll strike._

It took a few seconds for the crimson tint in Felix's eyes to fade. Afterwards, the Good Guy regarded Ralph.

"Ralph..."

"You did it again, and I'm thinking that ugly patch is definitely the cause of it. Worse, your hammer couldn't fix it."

"So who should we go to now? I mean, Mario couldn't help us, nor would he be able to help with this. Luigi's the one who works better with codes, and he's busy helping Surge investigate."

"But we need to at least let them know our game was hit too."

"What if they can't do anything?" The Good Guy wrapped his arms around himself again, red code rippling through his body.

"They may not be able to, but at least we'll have some idea on what it is." Ralph grabbed Felix's shoulders, trying to calm the latter down. "You just need to pull yourself together and try to think positive."

"You're right, Ralph," the Good Guy sighed, knowing his freaking out wasn't doing anyone any good. "Come to think of it, I wonder if Vanellope and her friends are dealing with the same problem?" Felix recalled the princess and the other racers' absence today, making the handyman wonder if they were running into the same problem. "I mean, we haven't seen them today. Maybe you should go in and check on them, and I'll get Surge and Luigi."

"But you're glitching all over the place..."

"And I'll be fine, Ralph. I'll learn how to get it under control eventually." With that, Felix shoved the Bad Guy toward the code room's exit. "Just go check on Vanellope and friends and see if they're all right."

Ralph sighed, knowing his friend/nemesis had a point. Nobody had seen Vanellope or the other _Sugar Rush_ racers since yesterday, which worried the wrecker more than anything for his "little sister." Had the hacker hit the candy racing game as well? If so, what would it mean for the racers?

The wrecker shook his head at this, not even wanting to think about that. Whatever was going on in _Sugar Rush_, there was a perfectly logical explanation for it.

...

_This game _screams_ stereotypical_.

Calhoun was trekking though an unknown forest in _Fairytale Speedway_, not too fond of the woody, magical atmosphere. It was a far cry from the Cy-Bug-ridden war zone of her game and even topped the saccharine world of _Sugar Rush_. In this game, Tamora found herself lost at every turn, with Red's place nowhere in sight. She wanted to wring every bit of the evidence out of the hooded girl and prove her suspicions right about her. What was Red planning? She knew it was more than just getting to know Felix. What if she was the one who infiltrated _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ and screwed up the Good Guy's code and/or probably had done the same to both _Fashion Trendy_ and _Frogger_? Although Calhoun didn't have all the details, which were most likely in this game, she knew the racer was bad news.

The woods felt like an endless labyrinth, but it was far from driving her insane. She had a husband to convince, and an arcade to save.

Suddenly, the sergeant heard a roaring engine approaching, and growing louder by the second. Tamora turned to see a kart speeding toward her, jumping out of its way just in time and stumbling into a nearby bush.

"Racing games..." she grumbled, slowly recovering to her feet. "And here I thought _Sugar Rush_ was dangerous."

Then she watched the kart skid to a stop. It was definitely unlike the candy-based vehicles in the dessert-based game. This one resembled a life-sized wolf, with golden eyes that served as the headlights. The driver stepped out, approaching the bush Calhoun was hiding behind.

"Are you okay, lady? And for the record, you're not hiding from anyone here."

"And here I thought I wouldn't be caught." Calhoun crawled out from behind the shrubbery, knowing she'd been seen. "Anyway, you should watch where you're..." She froze when she found herself face-to-face with a handsome, dark-haired boy with golden eyes that were somewhat filled with slight mischief and cunning. The sergeant resisted the urge to glance down to the rest of his body, which showed lean muscles underneath his brown, racing jumpsuit. His furry black ears and tail gave Calhoun some sort of indication that she was definitely not in _Sugar Rush_ anymore.

_What am I doing? I'm here for one thing and one thing only. The arcade's depending on me. _Besides, the boy's next words betrayed his features.

"Well, excuse me, lady," the boy growled, showing pointed canines, "Geez, you blondes are all the same. And here I though Cindy was a pain in the ass. It's your fault for being in the way."

Calhoun glared at the canine-boy, already at the end of her rope with him. She felt an urge to pull out her rifle and shoot him right in the forest. But she resisted, knowing he'd regenerate.

"I don't have time for you right now, anyway." Calhoun started off, but then she realized if he was a part of the racing game, he would know where to find Red. But she knew a jerk like him would never tell an outsider. Tamora had to try, though. For the arcade.

"Look, kid, I'm sorry for getting in your way. I just want to ask you..."

"You know I have a name, blondie." The teenage boy folded his arms, obviously annoyed by Calhoun's choice of a pet name. "And I don't have to answer to an outsider, either. Especially when they were in my route. I'm trying to practice for tomorrow here, and don't need distractions."

_Okay, _that _approach didn't work,_ Tamora realized.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." The boy started to speed off.

"Hold it, dog boy!" Calhoun shouted, causing him to turn to her, scowling.

"What now? Don't you see I'm trying to continue my run? And my name isn't 'Dog Boy.' It's Wolf! Now scram and go back to your own bug-infested game."

Tamora jumped in front of him. "Wait, you know about _Hero's Duty_? So your little friend..."

"Damn right I do! Maybe a little, but enough for me to not go back! And don't get it mixed up. I know you're talking about Red from how you mentioned 'friend.' Well, news flash, we aren't friends. I was just trying to warn her away from the idea of going in your game. But what does she do? She ignores me and goes off, anyway. I don't know why she did it, but I'll tell you right now, I don't care. Not since the second day we were here, and I'm not starting now." Wolf revved his engine in anger. "Now outta my way before I run you over for real this time!" He sped off, leaving billows of dust behind and causing Tamora to gag.

The sergeant hadn't even been in _Fairytale Speedway _and she already disliked two of its characters. But did it matter to her? All that mattered was trying to protect the arcade from a potential threat from this game, but Tamora still didn't know where Red was. Or her place.

Suddenly, crying and sniffling was heard nearby. Calhoun turned to see a short, brown-haired girl appearing to be around twelve or thirteen walking along the root-covered dirt road. Tears were running down her face and dripping to the ground. The girl was clearly upset over something.

"What's wrong with you?" Tamora asked.

The girl stopped in her tracks, looking up to regard the sergeant. Wiping tears from her eyes, she asked, "Who are you?"

"Someone who's not from this game, apparently." The _Hero's Duty's _lead shrugged. "What about you? Aren't you going to tell me why you're crying?"

"It's nothing, really." The girl shook her head, wiping more tears from her face.

"Look, it's better than looking like you've lost a friend to a permanent game over." Tamora placed a hand on the tween's shoulder.

"She never showed up." A fresh set of tears ran down the girl's face.

"_Who_ never showed up, runt?" Calhoun inquired, interested.

"Red."

The sergeant stared at the girl intently, wondering if it was the same Red she was looking for or another Red. Like Red Link from _The Legend of Zelda_. But the tween's next words eliminated any possibility of the latter.

"Red Riding Hood. She's my fellow racer. She's always done a lot for me. Been there for me and everything ever since we were in Juniper's Arcade. So what's with her now? She promised me she'd be at _Burger Time_ after she was done with whatever she had to do first."

"Wait." Calhoun cut her off. "When you were _where_?" She'd remembered Wolf saying something similar to what the tween was saying regarding Red's behavior on different days. And it could possibly be a clue.

"We were in another arcade before this one," the kid repeated, "And Red was sweet as sweet can be, always promising things and keeping them. Not to mention we used to always do things together. But when we got here, it's like she's been breaking promises left and right and have been leaving me out of things. It's like she just stopped caring about me all of a sudden, no matter how many times I try to talk to her. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she's never won a race." The girl flashed Tamora a weak smile. "Yeah, I win a lot against her, getting first place a few times, and second mostly. But Red? She tends to place terribly, but is not a bad racer. I blame the players who come in to play." Then the brunette regarded Tamora. "You think she's getting jealous of me?"

"Okay, calm down." The sergeant waved at the girl, trying to settle her down when she started crying again. "Everything's going to be fine. Especially from what I'm hearing about your friend going from sweet and innocent to a little catty all of a sudden. That doesn't sound right at all." _She must have two sides, or someone corrupted her code. Or a combination of the two. Judging from what this kid's saying._

"What?" The tween noticed Tamora lost in thought. "You know something I don't?"

"Maybe." _And it could be a threat to the arcade too, if what this kid's saying is true about Red._ The _Hero's Duty's _lead began to think that if all this girl wanted was to have her friend back, she could trust her. Especially when it could save Game Central Station. It was better than the jerk named Wolf.

"What do you think's up with her, then?" the tween inquired.

"That's why I'm looking for her."

"Well, I don't know where Red is," the girl shrugged, "But we can still check her place to see if she's home. She could be back."

"Then lead the way." Then Tamora noticed the kid's face still wet with tears, which reminded her of a couple of her men in her game. "And wipe those tears off while you're at it."

"Sorry." The girl wiped away the last of her tears, still sniffling. "I just want my friend back. "I'm Gretel, by the way. And you?"

"The one who was concerned about you, that's all," Calhoun sidestepped the question.

"What's your _name_?" Gretel asked with mock impatience, hands on her hips.

The woman sighed, already starting to get annoyed at how nosy Gretel was getting.

"Sergeant Calhoun," she muttered.

The young racer smiled with satisfaction. "That's better. Now we're ready."

...

Ralph headed across to _Sugar Rush_, hoping to see how Vanellope was doing and hoping that nothing happened to her or her game. He'd saved her before from one threat, and if another were to arise, he'd be ready.

But the second he set foot into the port of the dessert racing game, the alarm went off. Ralph knew that meant, groaning and knowing he had no time for it.

Surge appeared, not looking up from his clipboard, except to glance up at the Bad Guy.

"I know, I know," Ralph grumbled. "Wreck-It Ralph."

"This isn't a security check, sir," the arcade guardian said, "But this game is off-limits until opening time tomorrow morning."

"How so?" Ralph asked, confused.

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that information to out-of-game characters, sir," Surge replied, still not looking up at the wrecker.

"I'm Princess Vanellope's friend, so I should know," Ralph countered, exasperated.

"I apologize, sir, but rules are rules. Move along."

"Wait! At least tell me this. Is _Sugar Rush_ in one piece?" The wrecker started pleadingly at the Surge Protector. All he wanted to know is whether or not Vanellope was safe. If Ralph couldn't know what was going on in her game, he at least needed to be sure she was safe.

After a few seconds, the arcade guardian replied, "Yes, yes she is, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me."

When Surge jolted away, Ralph breathed a sigh of relief. Vanellope and her friends were safe, unharmed and well out of the hacker's reach. He hoped he or she would be identified and found soon, or who knew where else he or she might strike.

...

Kenneth made his way down the winding corridor, code moving along the walls and wires covering the floors. It gave the healer the creeps. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder why his master chose such a place; not to mention that he had never seen Mr. Candy's face, which also struck slight fear in his heart.

He reached the end, which consisted of a beacon of code. A dark figure stood near it, back turned. Kenneth realized the figure was a little...short.

"You're back, Kenneth. I trust Red's planted the seed?"

"She said she was on the job, Mr. Candy," the angel replied, then moved closer to the figure, hope written on his face. "So? When do I get my own game?" Kenneth was starting to go into his usual overexcited moment, light blazing from him.

"Can you stop doing that?"

"Sorry, Mr. Candy." Kenneth quickly calmed down, apologizing in respect to Mr. Candy. His Southern drawl made it more sincere. "Anyway, I just waned to let you know that Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s starting to feel the effects of my 'gift.' And Burn and Whiplash did their parts, apparently. Judging from the high alert and investigating going around Game Central Station."

"Excellent, Kenneth." Satisfaction was evident in Mr. Candy's deep voice.

"But I still don't understand why we need Felix, sir. I mean, I know he's the ultimate Good Guy and all, but..."

"What I've been telling you so far is all you need to know. You don't need to worry about anything beyond that. And once you and Red's work has been put into action, you'll be rewarded as promised."

"So, what now?"

"Now, we wait. Game Central Station will be in for a surprise when that Mushroom Ball comes around, hoo hoo hoo."


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, everyone. Thanks for all the reviews so far throughout the first 13 chapters! I really appreciate it! Thanks guys! And I thank the rest of the followers too. The important thing is that people are reading this fic. Also, tell your friends and fellow writers/readers about this one if they're interested.**

**Again, I give each and every last one of you my thanks for sticking with me!**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 14**

"That must be it." Tamora guessed.

Gretel had led the sergeant through a vast, not to mention dangerous part of the woods, where they had to deal with loose branches, pitfalls, and woodland creatures which were a far cry from the Cy-Bugs in _Hero's Duty_. Unlike the viruses, however, Calhoun had managed to get past the obstacles of the forested area. Now she and Gretel were staring at a tiny, normal-looking cottage shrouded in vines and sitting under shady tree branches. It made Calhoun wonder how one could live in a place like that.

The woman and tween approached the house, peering through one of the front windows to see what appeared to be a den; which was completely empty, along with the rest of the house.

"Looks like she's not home." Gretel shrugged, then noticed Calhoun going around to the back of the house, searching for a way in. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I need to get in." Tamora tried a back window, but it wouldn't budge.

"By breaking in?"

"Do you have a better idea, kid?" Then Tamora went back around and tried the front door, which (not surprisingly) didn't open a crack either.

"This is a bad idea, you know?" Anxiety crept into Gretel's chest. "I know Red's not herself right now, but she's still my friend and I don't wanna lose her trust. I mean, what if she comes back and finds us here?"

"She won't, as long as we get in and out quickly. Now, how am I going to get in?" The _Hero's Duty's_ lead wondered, then glanced up to see a brick chimney. She smirked, knowing she just found her way in.

Gretel noticed it too, and winced. "Really? You can't be serious. Plus, we'll get dirty."

"If you don't want to do this, runt, you can go home. Unless you want to help your friend."

"I do. I just didn't think we'd be getting filthy to do it." The tween motioned to the chimney, dreading how unsanitary it would be. But if it was to help Red, then it was a chance she had to take. Gretel followed Tamora up one of the trees near the cottage, hanging out on the branch nearest its roof. She jumped across, nearly falling off but pulled herself up to follow Tamora down the chimney.

* * *

The inside of Red's cottage was a little larger than it appeared outside, with the den taking over most of its foyer. A small kitchenette sat in the corner of the den, not far from where Calhoun and Gretel landed.

They stepped out of the fireplace, searching the house's interior until they came across a small alcove in the back of the den.

"We can check Red's room." Gretel started for the alcove, stepping through the curtains. When she noticed the sergeant was not moving an inch, she reminded, "You know this was your plan."

"Don't rush me, runt." Calhoun started after her, annoyed. _She reminds me of those cavities._

The bedroom may have been the smallest part, with only a bed and a desk. A thin closet laid next to the desk.

"It's always cramped in here, I know," Gretel said as she and Tamora took in the room's barren surroundings, "But she's pretty neat about it."

"Let's see what your little friend's hiding." The sergeant began her search, opening drawers in the small desk for any sign of evidence that could expose Red's true nature. She dug through both of them, only coming up with cosmetics, accessories, and jewelry. She then checked underneath the desk, but still came out with nothing save for boots. "Nothing," she grumbled, then regarded Gretel, who was checking the bed. "Did you find anything?"

"Nope," the tween replied, shaking her head from the collected dust as she crawled out from under the bed and rising to her feet. "I still don't understand, though. Why would Red be hiding something? It's not like her, and she doesn't seem to have anything to hide."

Calhoun, on the other hand, was growing annoyed, knowing there had to be something in this house that would give Red away. What if Felix was right, after all? That Red was just a crazed girl with a crush on the Good Guy but didn't know he was married. Maybe she didn't have anything to do with the hacker. However, Gretel and Wolf's explanations about Red's sudden change in personality were still hanging in the air; the mystery behind that waiting to be solved.

"Maybe she's hiding something somewhere else in here," Tamora guessed.

"Hey, it's worth a shot." Gretel shrugged, but as she started to leave, she felt something creak beneath the rug she was standing on. "Okay, something's loose down there." The tween glanced down at the rug, tapping it lightly.

"One way to find out." Calhoun lifted the small floor covering to reveal what appeared to be a trapdoor.

"Looks like she's not off the hook yet." The _Hero's Duty's_ lead opened it, smirking in success when she saw several manila folders, with files all pertaining to _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ as well as the Good Guy himself. What were they all doing in _Fairytale Speedway_, let alone in a racer's home? And why did Red have them? As far as she knew, only Surge had access to the information regarding every character in Game Central Station. So how was Red able to smuggle them out?

"What are all these folders?" Gretel inquired, scooping them up and nearly dropping a few sheets. She looked through random photos and information. "And who's Fix-It Felix, Jr.? He's not part of this game, is he?"

"Give me those." Tamora snatched the jumbled files out of the girl's arms. She scanned through each of them, knowing for sure they were the exact files.

The sergeant didn't know all the details yet, but she knew one thing: Red already knew everything she'd been doing so far had been for show. Red at least had a part in everything that was going on, that much Tamora knew. But by learning about Felix? Why him, who was merely one person of around a thousand Game Central Station residents? There was plenty of time to figure that out after she alerted Surge about the stolen files, which in turn could prove that Red was a potential threat. Or there was at least a man behind the curtain who was using her.

Hearing a moan, she snapped out of her musings.

"What the heck was that?" the tween wondered, also startled. Her eyes fell on the closet, which seemed to be rattling from inside. Gretel opened it, nearly jumping when she found herself face-to-face with a large, muscular man tied up and gagged. She looked away, embarrassed upon learning he was completely naked. She had no idea who he was or where he came from.

But Calhoun did.

"Maroney! What are you...?"

The soldier moved the gag as best as he could with his tongue. "I was exploring this game until that Red Riding-whatever chick invited me to her place. She offered me some bread she baked earlier this week, and the next thing I knew, I was in here."

"So, she drugged you..." Tamora then took a quick look at her soldier's situation. "And apparently stole your armor." That fact alone forever proved all claims about Red's presence in _Hero's Duty_. Where and how else could she have gotten her hands on armor?

"I don't know what she's trying to do as me, but I'm sure it ain't good. And we need to get outta here before she comes back!" Then Maroney noticed Gretel still looking away. "Who's the kid?"

"A friend of your little jailer," Calhoun replied dryly, then noticed the girl's attention toward the horizontal window, where the slightest hint of a red hood was visible.

"We need to go!" Gretel urged, pointing at the window. "Red's back. But I'm not going up that chimney!" The young racer folded her arms in defiance, not wanting to deal with the filthy entrance they'd made.

"So, you want to get caught and lose your friend? Or get killed?"

"Hey, I'd rather die and regenerate than...hey, let me go!"

"Sorry, kid. It's for your own good." Calhoun hoisted Gretel on her shoulder, despite the latter's complaints and wails. "Besides, you might even be able to help us save this arcade from becoming a memory."

"What about me, Sarge?" Maroney tried to squirm out of his bonds, falling out of the closet, "You can't leave me to die here!"

The _Hero's Duty's_ lead paused, placing Gretel squarely on the floor and kneeling down to untie the soldier.

"I could, but I need all of you ladies. And dying by a brat's hand isn't what one calls dying with honor." When the last of the ropes were loose, Calhoun pulled the soldier up, trying her best to face forward. She could tell just from this situation that things were going to get ugly if she didn't catch the hacker. Especially when she had an idea of who he or she could be. She knew that whoever it could be, they weren't at it alone. Regardless, Tamora had to put a stop to this before it came to a head.

...

"This is the third game this week," said Surge, examining Felix's code, specifically the red patch, which now seemed to be spreading all over the Good Guy's blue ones. Including his hammer.

"And we still don't know who's-a behind it." Luigi floated up to the arcade guardian, getting a look at the odd patch, then at Felix who seemed unable to control himself let alone his glitching. The Good Guy had been behind Ralph one second, then somewhere else the next until he ended up right behind the player-two plumber and Surge. Just watching Felix was enough to make Luigi worry as he always considered the Good Guy a second brother in addition to the more famous Mario. And Luigi didn't even want to imagine seeing him in Felix's position.

"Ralph and I think it's more than o-on-ne," Felix sputtered the last word through a glitch.

"Felix! You need to control yourself!" Ralph scolded, shaking his friend frantically. The wrecker was growing more and more worried for the handyman, almost to the point of frightened.

"Stop it! You've been treating me like this all day, Ralph! I'm not that glitch!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone shot Felix an exasperated look, knowing the Good Guy would never refer to Vanellope as "that glitch." Then they noticed the crimson glare in his eyes again, which startled Surge and Luigi, and once more raised concern in Ralph.

The wrecker knew this was unlike Felix and feared it was only going to get worse if left unchecked. He had to find out who was behind all of this: _Fashion Trendy_ and _Frogger's _mysterious deletion, the handyman's behavior, etc. Who knew what game the hacker may hit next? And where was Calhoun, who had left the two men behind to more than likely investigate further? Hopefully, she came up with some leads.

"I've never seen this before," said Luigi, slowly moving back at the sight of the angered Felix. Then he regarded Ralph. "Vanellope wasn't-a like a-this when she was glitch-a, was she?"

"Not at all. Just bullied a lot," replied Ralph. "But this...this...is new. I know Felix's problem is way different from what Vanellope had to go through for fifteen years."

"Maybe if we a-try to pull out this a-nasty add-on..." Luigi floated up to Felix's code, reaching out for the red patch.

"WAIT!"

It was too late. As soon as the player-two Nintendo Good Guy touched the patch, he had the same shocking discovery Ralph had received earlier. Surge and the wrecker pulled Luigi away, feeling the remains of the jolt in the process.

"What-a...was-a...that?" Luigi wondered, brushing himself off from the electric charge.

"It's as if it's not allowing us to touch it or get near it," Surge guessed. "And I agree with Luigi. I have yet to see anything such as this before."

"And it only gets better," Ralph said sarcastically. "Felix is the only one who can touch it without ending up like us."

"And I sort of like it, too," the Good Guy said, hovering up to his code and touching the red patch, and, like last time, didn't receive a shock. Instead, he again felt that increase of strength from the mysterious add-on, filling him with power he didn't know was possible. Felix had no idea where it came from or who installed it. All he knew was that he couldn't get enough of it.

The others, however, were growing uneasy by this. Especially Ralph, who, after a few seconds, tried to pry Felix from the patch.

"Let go of me, Ralph!" The Good Guy struggled against the Bad Guy's strength but knowing it was a losing battle considering the strength disadvantage. "I need more!"

"Felix, what you need is to focus!" Ralph managed to pull his partner free, then turning him so they were face-to-face. "It's me, Ralph!"

"R-Ralph..." The Good Guy stared up at his friend, back to his senses and recovering from the rush that had been shooting through his head. He glanced up at the menacing add-on threatening to take over his code, then at his gloved hands, trembling. "What's happening to me?"

"We don't know for sure at this point," Surge replied, "judging from what I've seen so far. But one thing is certain: it is not the least bit positive. Also, we can say that it's the hacker striking again. And I know this isn't the last place he'll hit. We're still on the lookout for him."

"And still-a nobody knows-a who that-a is," added Luigi. "Which is-a why Surge has-a everyone putting their games-a on high alert, guarding their-a code rooms-a like you wouldn't believe it. Bowser and Don-a Pianta's guarding ours."

"And I encourage you to do the same, especially in case the suspect..."

"Or suspect_s_," Felix interrupted, putting emphasis on the _s_.

"Right. In case the suspects come back here. Apparently this is growing into a more serious matter with Fix-It Felix's code tampering."

"Which means it might have something to do with Felix," Ralph guessed.

"But why?" Felix asked, red binary coursing through him.

"That, we have yet to find out," said Surge. "But we will. And you might not be the only victim, sir."

...

"I'm telling you, that kid's trouble," Maroney claimed as he, Calhoun, and Gretel stepped off the carriage-like train from _Fairytale Speedway_ to Game Central Station. The second they set foot into the main hub, the soldier was met with catcalls, crude jokes, and immature giggles from the residents. Even some of the female characters were blushing and looking away from the nude man walking through the area.

"Look at the size of _that_..." a Lakitu whispered to his Spiny friends, his face red.

"Dude, don't be disgusting!" one of the spiked _Mario Bros._ baddies hissed, but then took a double take at Maroney. "I don't care if he's buff, and...well..."

"Remind me to visit _Hero's Duty_ later," Rouge from _Sonic the Hedgehog_ smirked with interest. She was walking past the trio, her blue eyes staring hungrily at Maroney, whose face was burning red with embarrassment.

"Back off!" Calhoun waved the dangerously close bat away, moving in front of her soldier to cover him. "Go stare at someone else!"

"Fine, then," Rouge huffed, "And here I thought you had a husband. Can't wait 'til Fix-It sees this."

When the bat flew off, Maroney glanced down at his commanding officer. There were still laughs and pointed jokes flying around them.

"I can't go around like this," he whimpered.

"We know that, big guy," Gretel agreed. "The sooner we can find something to cover you up..."

"The sooner we can get back to what's important," Tamora added, knowing she saw all that she needed to prove to Felix that Red had a motive. Especially when the sergeant had seen the Good Guy's files in the teen's floorboards, and one of her soldiers nude in the closet. While Calhoun still didn't know how Red had acquired or was planning to use the information on Felix; she knew enough to know that the girl was not to be trusted. He had to believe her this time.

"I thought Red was my friend," Gretel said, head hung down. "Why would she do something like this? I mean, it still doesn't make sense."

"Don't worry, we'll find more info on this _real_ soon, kid," the woman assured the tween, then she noticed four men coming out of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ "And there they are right now."

Ralph, Felix, Surge, and Luigi were exiting the 80s game, apparently discussing something regarding it.

"Fix-It! Wreck-It!"

"Calhoun!" Ralph and the others approached the sergeant, Gretel, and Maroney, all wanting to know where she'd been. He then froze, face red at the sight of the naked Maroney. He was trying to keep from bursting into laughter. Felix and Luigi were in the same boat, sizing the man.

"Oh my lands..." The Good Guy held his nose in an attempt to contain his laughs.

"Mamma mia!" Luigi covered his eyes, knowing the last time he'd seen this happen was when he'd accidentally walked in on Dr. Eggman getting dressed one day in _Sonic the Hedgehog, _having fainted from the horror of that scene, which had been in his nightmares for three weeks.

Surge, however, didn't know how to make of Maroney's situation.

"You do realize this isn't tolerated, sir," he informed as he took in the embarrassed soldier, adjusting his glasses.

"You think I wanted to end up like this?" Maroney shouted.

"Okay, enough!" Tamora stood her ground in front of him, Gretel right next to her.

The wrecker's gaze then fell on the young racer. "And who's the kid?"

"I'm Gretel," she replied.

When Tamora's gaze fell on Felix, however, she noticed the hard look back in his eyes. She stiffened a little, but quickly maintained her hard-as-nails exterior.

"Where've you been?" the Good Guy asked, his voice low.

"And what could those files be?" Surge noticed the manila folders in the sergeant's arms. He adjusted his glasses for a better look. "And where did you get those?"

"I found them in Red's room in her game." Tamora held out the files for the men to see. They were all taken aback upon noticing they were files regarding Felix.

"That's absurd. What were they doing in there?"

"And that's not all we found." Calhoun motioned to the nude Maroney, looking away at the same time. "Red kidnapped one of my soldiers and passed into _Hero's Duty_ as him..._during _arcade hours. Kohut and I saw her on the cameras."

"Why haven't _I_ noticed it?" Surge asked.

"But-a _Fairytale Speedway_'s only a-been plugged-a in for a week," added Luigi. "She probably a-doesn't know what going a-Turbo is."

"Going Turbo?" Gretel repeated, glancing between the adults for an explanation.

"You'll a-find out-a later," the green-clad plumber assured the kid.

"But she stole these." Calhoun shoved Felix's files into Surge's arms.

"But...how...?" The arcade guardian was beside himself, surprisingly confused at how a character from a new game knew where the stash of character files were.

"Hold on!" Felix interjected. "Red wouldn't steal these. Like Luigi said, she doesn't know her way around."

"Well, she does," Tamora countered.

"And knew exactly how to get past Surge into another game during hours too, it seems," added Ralph, "Which is something I did once."

"I don't think we've forgotten about that, Wreck-It. Anyway, I think you need to investigate it and then you'll realize I'm right. Check the fingerprints and/or cameras, and see if they're truly the little brat's."

"Okay...I'll...see to it." Surge nodded, vanishing in a bolt of lightening.

"And you..." Calhoun regarded Luigi. "You need to go warn your brother and friends in your game and make sure they haven't gotten hit."

"Yes, a-ma'am." The green plumber gulped and started off for _Super Mario Bros._

"You too, Maroney," she ordered her soldier. "Warn the other pussy-willows and make sure everything's secure." Then Calhoun noticed his "situation." "And get some spare clothes on while you're at it!"

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier saluted, then headed off as fast as he could for _Hero's Duty_, trying his best to ignore the continued giggles and wisecracks fired at him from other characters.

When they were both gone, Tamora was met by a piercing glare from Felix.

"You really _are_ jealous," the Good Guy said accusingly, red binary flashing through his body. "You really think I'm going to..."

"Now you know I'm not thinking that at all, Short Stack! I know you wouldn't leave me for that kid or let her get the best of you. I trust you, but I'm trying to save you _and this arcade_! And I know Red is not all candy and rainbows. She's a threat!"

"Just stop it, okay?" Felix snapped, at the end of rope with his wife's accusations.

"Stop what? What are you guys arguing about here? And hey, Gretel."

Everyone turned to see Red coming out of her game, skipping up to Felix's side.

"Oh...Red." The handyman calmed down, regarding the teen. "Nothing. Just a little..." He shot a dirty look at his wife. "...disagreement."

"Reeeeally." Red drew out the word. Her lips twisted into a slight smirk, and her brown eyes bore into Tamora's blue ones with interest. However, they appeared a little different from usual, almost possessing a yellow or gold hue to them. They were almost sinister, as Calhoun looked more closely. Gretel noticed this too, and shifted to the older woman's side a little.

"Yeah, really," replied Ralph, shrugging. The wrecker had seen the married couple have their disputes on a few occasions...well, more than a few, which work themselves out through time. But this incident, for some reason, was going into a whole new level.

At the same time, though, the Bad Guy didn't know which one to believe, not that it was his place to intervene. Of course, he was always looking for Felix, especially since the Turbo incident. While he believed that Felix wasn't doing anything past normal with Red and knew that the Good Guy would never fall for another girl behind Tamora's back, Ralph was also worried for his friend/nemesis and was leaning more toward Calhoun's suspicions about the fast Red. Especially when he noticed the change in the young girl's eyes just like the sergeant had, which made the stolen files hit home a little.

Ralph knew there was something off about Red and worth watching over.

Only Felix didn't seem to notice.

"So, you're going to the ball on Monday?" Red asked Felix, in that cute, perky voice that seemed to almost make any guy melt around her like butter. She grabbed the Good Guy's arm again, giving him the honeyglows.

"Yeah," the handyman said, nervously. "With my wife." He nodded over to Tamora, who smirked with satisfaction, but then it fell when she heard "Hopefully" soon after.

_What was that supposed to mean? _she wondered.

"I see." The fairytale figure darted that wicked smile out at Calhoun, who was trying to contain her anger. _Looks like I have a chance, "soldier."_

"What have you been up to?" Felix asked.

"Just...things."

"What kind?" Tamora interjected, gritting her teeth and resisting the urge to snatch her up and teach her a lesson.

"Yeah, what?" Gretel was equally curious.

"Just stuff to do with our game. Even you wouldn't understand it, Gretel." Red regarded the tween, who folded her arms in annoyance at that last part. She hated it when she said she didn't understand. The teen changed the subject. "Hey, you know Litwak's going on vacation starting Sunday?"

"No, we haven't heard anything about that," Ralph scratched his head.

"Yeah, that's news to us," Felix agreed.

"Heard it from some guys at _The Legend of Zelda_." Red paced around, knowing she was successful in changing the subject. "I'm guessing that's why those princesses from _Mario Bros._ want to have the ball early. Hey, that gives us three weeks off afterwards, so why not? You guys probably haven't heard about his vacation because you live too far on the other side. Anyway, I gotta go. Didn't mean to butt in on your little _disagreement_." That was when the teen glanced at Felix, smiling with that chirpy optimism. "Good luck settling it, Felix." Then her gaze fell on Tamora, and her smirk returned. _Not._ Finally, she regarded Gretel. "And see ya later too, Gret. We'll do something soon, I promise."

"Not," the tween sighed when her friend was out of earshot. "And she's going to stand me up again."

"She's...a nosy one, isn't she?" Ralph said.

"_Too_ nosy," Calhoun growled.

"She's just a friend," Felix countered, trying to make it clear.

"A friend who could be..."

"She's not trying to trick me, Tamora!" The Good Guy cut her off. "She's a sweet person and _not_ a threat!"

"Open your eyes, Short Stack! You've only known her for three days."

"Let's stop talking about this, please." The handyman broke into pixels again in anger. "Red is innocent. She didn't steal those files or break into _Hero's Duty._ If she did, someone was probably using her."

"That's what I'm thinking, too," Gretel interjected. "I don't know, maybe someone _is_ using her. And she has to ignore me and stuff so she can work for this guy, or he'll kill her. Whoever he is."

"Could be, kid," Ralph guessed. "But we can't assume anything yet. Not until we find out more."

"Fix-It! Fix-It!"

The four turned to notice a young man and two girls hurrying up to them, one of the girls panting. They recognized them as Vyse, Aika, and Fina from _Skies of Arcadia_. Nobody took their panicked expressions as good signs, assuming that something happened in the air raid game.

"Vyse?" Felix cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What's going on? Did your game get hit too?"

"No, nothing like that," the airman replied, smiling halfheartedly. "I mean, I hope not while we're out here."

"Our planes are wrecked from the last round," Aika put in. "And for some reason, they won't fix themselves like they're supposed to."

"We checked the code room, too," added Fina. "Nothing unusual."

"You don't mind having a look at them, Fix-It, do you?" Vyse asked, a hopeful note to his voice.

"Sure, I don't mind." Felix shrugged, realizing this was a good opportunity to see if his hammer would start registering again. He regarded Ralph, Gretel, and Tamora. "I'll be off, guys."

When the Good Guy headed off with the _Arcadia_ trio, Calhoun shook her head, not believing her husband still didn't believe her about Red. Even after she and Gretel had found a few pieces of evidence against her.

"That girl definitely has her arm around my husband," the sergeant growled, not believing what was happening between herself and Felix. And that she was being made the enemy.

"I believe you," said Ralph finally. "At least I do a little. Something's wrong with Red's eyes. They weren't the same as yesterday."

"I know, Wreck-It. And how she keeps hanging on to him? She's definitely bad news, but there's no talking to Fix-It."

"I believe you, too," Gretel said. "That was definitely not Red. She'd never throw herself at a guy like that. And about Fix-It, he'll believe you."

"Yeah," Ralph agreed. "He loves you. We'll expose Red. We just have to find out more about her."

"And we got two days before the ball, too," added Calhoun. "That should be plenty of time to bust her _and_ any other hackers involved."

"Right now, though, I need to turn in for the night," Ralph yawned. He didn't realize how tired he was. "I'll talk to Felix later tonight and at least try to convince him a little."

"And take the kid back to her game." The sergeant nodded to Gretel.

"Why me?" The wrecker complained.

"Because you're better at kids than me, considering how much time you spend in _Sugar Rush_."

Ralph sighed, taking Gretel's hand and starting toward the fairytale racing game.

Tamora, on the other hand, couldn't stop worrying about what Red was planning, and with Felix at that. She had to keep investigating, and it continued now.

...

Felix followed Vyse and the girls into the always-battered airship zone of _Skies of Arcadia_. Even though it was along the same lines as _Hero's Duty_ with its war-based atmosphere, the dogfights that occurred in the former was still a far cry from the perils of the Cy-Bugs in his wife's game.

When the Good Guy hopped off the propeller-equipped trolley into the game, he noticed two biplanes lying on nearby hills, smoke billowing from Vyse's blue one. Totaled from the last round, he guessed. But what confused Felix was the fact that they didn't fix themselves afterwards.

"Why haven't they fixed themselves after game over?" he asked, examining the two planes.

"Exactly, and yet nothing unusual happened in this game," Vyse insisted, jerking a finger at his wrecked machine. "Unless we missed something."

"Maybe if you can fix them, their codes can go back to normal?" Aika inquired.

"I guess," Felix sighed.

"What do you mean 'you guess?'" The female pirate placed her hands on her hips in surprise. "You should be able to fix anything. Aren't you supposed to be _Fix-It_ Felix, Jr.?"

_Easy for you to say_, Felix thought, remembering today's mishaps where the windows hadn't mended themselves. And when he touched his code, the red patch hadn't vanished. The Good Guy glanced back at the totaled planes, then at Vyse, Aika, and Fina, knowing it was worth a try. He pulled out his hammer, but then froze when he noticed something strange, which was minor before but was now a major issue.

It was almost white.


	15. Chapter 15

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 15**

"Good, nobody's around," Gretel whispered, peeking around the corridors of the Enchanted Castle in search of the code room where she would find out what was wrong with Red. Shortly after Wreck-It Ralph had dropped her off at the port of _Fairytale Speedway_, the tween headed through the Enchanted Forest, despite the horrors and dangers its nightlife provided. Sure she had been freaked out and frightened by the many goblins and other creatures that hung out within, but she had managed to come out unscathed.

She had staked out under the moat until she'd been certain everyone was in bed for the night. What Sergeant Calhoun had said about Red's being either corrupted or used had raised some of Gretel's anxiety about her fellow racer, and she needed to find the answers behind it.

The tween sneaked down the long hallway, glancing from door to door to make sure all of the castle's residents, the royals, were still asleep. Thankfully there wasn't a sound in the hallway, save for her footsteps that sounded like Bob-omb explosions.

Gretel kept her steps slow and silent, careful not to alert anyone as she hung a left at the fork at the end of the hallway. A vast, domed sitting room loomed before her, windows surrounding the entire room. Though the under-aged characters (even if they were royal) weren't allowed in the west wing of the second floor, Gretel knew where the code room was thanks to her eavesdropping sessions. And they were going to pay off. She hurried across the wing to a curtained area, where she stepped through to end up face-to-face with an enormous mirror, which shone brightly before her. Usually the Evil Queen was in charge of anything regarding her mirror. Especially when it served as a portal to the code room.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," she uttered, causing the looking glass to shimmer. The young racer stepped through, setting foot in the code room, whose surroundings were similar to the code room in any other game, with its metallic and tube-ridden walls sending data and code toward the vault that housed the codes and stats of every character. Its NES controller-like keypad resided in front of Gretel.

She glanced behind her, making sure nobody had followed, then punched in the Konami code. The vault opened with a loud _pshhh_, allowing the tween to step in. The pitch-black void was as dark and foreboding as any other code room she'd explored. Not that Gretel had explored one of another game. The tween had only ever known her own way into this one, even when she had still been in Juniper's Arcade. Gretel knew her way around the surrounding clusters of codes and panels like the back of her hands. She swam through the many codes, glancing at all of the panels in search of Red's. Gretel knew she had to make this quick before someone found her.

"Where are you, Red?" she wondered, spinning around until she found an odd, red panel in the far corner.

"Never seen that one before." Gretel floated over to the strange-colored panel...and her jaw nearly dropped when she noticed the name on the panel.

"Red?" This frightened the tween, knowing that all of the racers' panels were either blue or purple. The last time Gretel had been in there, playing around with her brother Hansel, Red's had been the usual purple. So why was it red all of a sudden? Did it explain Red's change in behavior?

Gretel opened her friend's panel, revealing the latter's racing stats. Everything appeared normal, but she didn't turn away yet. Instead, the young racer took a closer look, where she noticed a few patches entirely different from the rest that displayed little icons in the form of creepy smiling faces. Gretel had never seen any patches like those, or known where they came from. But she knew this: it could very well explain Red's behavior and that someone had clearly been in the game.

But who? And what was their motive? Why did they need Red to do it? Gretel didn't understand it, but she knew she had to let Calhoun and her friends know.

Just as Gretel was about to make a break for it, voices were heard from the other side of the mirror.

"How long do you plan on keeping that disguise?" one of the voices asked.

"Ath long ath I need to, Burn," another, lisping voice replied.

"Who was that?" Gretel wondered as she moved closer to the exit to listen in closely, but reconsidered as she scrambled further into the void to hide when the mirror started to shimmer. Gretel hid behind a cluster of power-up panels, watching as the voices' owners entered the room. One appeared ghostlike, clad in a blue and white jumpsuit. What disturbed her was his golden catlike eyes, knowing they were similar to the ones Red had earlier.

Gretel noticed the other one as...Red? She could have sworn the second intruder had a lisp, but there she was instead, red hood and all. What was her best friend doing in the code room and with a creepy character named Burn at that?

When Red was glancing around, Gretel could get a glimpse of the same eerie eyes as Burn. She realized that wasn't her friend over there at all.

"You left my code'ths staths open again, Burn," Red pointed out, still in that lisping tone.

_What the heck's going on?_ Gretel wondered, daring to move a little closer to listen to the exchange. She watched as Burn quickly closed Red's panel then regarded the teen. The tween had to hear their conversation.

"Someone was probably in here," Burn guessed. "Probably that annoying fairy Ryan, or that Lance-whoever."

"Perhapth." Red rubbed her chin. "But whoever it was didn't seem to have messed with anything, stho I have nothing to worry about. Not that it will matter once the ball comth around. Ethspecially when I'll be athking Felix to the ball. In thith form, that is. Who knew killing a helpleth brat would get me thith far?"

Gretel gasped at the sound of that part, not liking the sound of that at all. That explained everything: Red's bizarre behavior, the stolen files, breaking into another game, etc. All of it was not because Red was possessed or used. She'd been killed. Now some sort of...virus was taking over her best friend's body and avatar, and, more than likely, it was the reason Game Central Station was in danger. They also needed Fix-It Felix, Jr. to do it, but why? Gretel may not have had all the details now, but she knew the arcade was in even more danger, which meant she had to warn Calhoun, Surge Protector, or anyone who was programmed as an adult as soon as possible.

...

"I know the boss ordered us to hack into _Hero's Duty_, but I'm telling you, you got a strange way of doing it unnoticed," Whiplash said, adjusting his hood. He and Kenneth were in the dark, war-ridden atmosphere of _Hero's Duty. _It was after arcade hours, but they could still smell the slight stench of battle and destroyed Cy-Bugs as they had just reached the central fortress that loomed before them. Whiplash couldn't help but wonder how the soldiers could live in the first-person shooting game.

To their surprise, no one was around, which had been the norm ever since they'd set foot into the game. Not one soldier had been in sight, and there weren't any now to stop them, which made the Turbo Twin wonder where everyone was. They were probably out doing drills, resting, or investigating in Game Central Station.

Not that either character cared. Whiplash and Kenneth came to complete only one task, and by the looks of the dark, deserted atmosphere, it was going to be so easy they didn't even have to be with Burn or Red to do it.

"You know we can take these off, Ken," the Turbo Twin said, shifting his heavy cloak a little to let some of the heat out. "Besides, I'm burning up in this thing, and nobody's around."

"My, my, you must be asking to give away our identities, then." Kenneth smiled cheerfully at Whiplash, who was creeped out. He knew the angel was a little annoyed behind that blinding grin. Sometimes Whiplash wondered why Mr. Candy hired Kenneth, whom some people can judge as being overly-optimistic or psychotic underneath that grin. Was it because he wanted his own game? "You know there are cameras in this game, wanting to catch our moves. But they won't find us out...as long as we're hidden."

Whiplash groaned, knowing Kenneth was right. He had to either brave the overheating cloak or risk exposure.

"Okay, you win. But how the hell are we gonna get in? This thing's sealed shut." He felt the large steel door for some sort of switch, but found nothing.

"I don't think anyone will answer if we knock." Kenneth glanced up at where the beacon sat, which confused Whiplash.

"What are we gonna do? Climb?"

The healer laughed lightly. "No, silly. Well, we'll _have_ to go up there, sure, but we're not climbing. I have ways of getting inside a building."

Whiplash watched as Kenneth approached the wall, then hunched forward, feathers emerging from the back of his cloak and then gave birth to two, pure white enormous wings. Whiplash had to shield his eyes from the white light emanating from them. He moved one hand aside so he could watch what Kenneth was going to do. The angel plucked a feather from one of his massive wings, which confused Whiplash for a moment and causing him to wonder what a feather was going to do in their situation. Kenneth winced from the slight pain that rose subsequently.

"You okay?" the Turbo Twin asked, noticing a red, bloody spot where Ken had picked the feather. He was trying not to be grossed out at the sight of it, considering his surprisingly weak stomach at the sight of blood.

"This is nothing, don't worry." Kenneth flexed his wings, shaking off the pain from the small wound.

"Hey! Hold it right there!"

The angel nearly swore when he and Whiplash turned to notice one of the soldiers heading toward them.

"Shit," Whiplash cursed, knowing they'd been caught.

"Well, this looks like trouble," Kenneth said, smile never leaving his face as he sized the soldier.

"State your business," he demanded, "or I'll have to turn you in to Sarge."

"Well, since you put it that way..." Kenneth removed his hood, revealing himself to the soldier. Whiplash followed suit.

"Wait a minute, you're the one who was here yesterday!" The soldier pointed an accusing finger at the healer.

"I think he's got us confused with R..." Whiplash's voice was muffled by Kenneth's wing slapping against his face.

"I think he doesn't." The angel grinned, head cocked to the side as he approached the soldier, who now pulled out his rifle to shoot.

"I-I'm warning you." The soldier's voice shook. "Leave or I'll..."

"You'll alert Mrs. Calhoun?" Kenneth filled in, still retaining his creepy smile. Then he placed a hand over the soldier's forehead, light emanating from his gloved hand. "Are you sure?"

When Ken removed his hand, the soldier blinked a few times, then glanced around _Hero's Duty_, eventually stopping at the healer and Whiplash.

"What the hell? What was I doing?" he wondered, then glanced at Kenneth and Whiplash. "Who are you guys?"

"That's a good question." The Turbo Twin folded his arms impatiently, glaring up at Kenneth.

"Wellll..." the angel drew out the word, his Southern drawl making him sound more compassionate. "We were lost, and we'd appreciate it if you'd show us around the fortress. We're new characters, and, you know, we'd like to tour the neighborhood. Namely this game."

"Yeah, show us," the Turbo Twin added, smirking. "Bet this game's pretty badass."

The soldier glanced between Kenneth and Whiplash, mind now a blank as to who the strange characters were. He'd never seen them before, that was for sure, but if they were just new characters, where was the harm? It wasn't like he was going to get chewed out by his no-nonsense sergeant for being a tour guide. Especially when they only wanted to see the place.

"Move aside," he finally ordered, approaching the steel door.

Kenneth and Whiplash complied, allowing him to push a small switch into the fortress wall. A pad appeared before him, where the soldier punched in some sort of code, causing the mammoth door to slowly slide open and allowing the three access inside. Both angel and Turbo Twin smirked, knowing they were in, beginning their "tour."

But there was only one area Ken and Whiplash were interested in, and it wouldn't be long until they found it.

...

Calhoun returned to her hut in _Hero's Duty_, attempting to at least get one or two hours of rest before opening time again. Unlike her husband's penthouse, Tamora's place was tiny, with a small foyer and a kitchenette in the corner. A futon resided in the center of the foyer, facing a closet-sized bathroom. She hadn't come up with any new information regarding the threat to the arcade or Red. She'd asked around the arcade, checked in other games for suspicious activity. Nothing had arisen. The sergeant had even asked Surge if he'd gotten any new evidence or seen the young racer. Neither had happened.

She slumped on her futon, pulling off her boots and sighing. She was starting to lose her patience, knowing she needed to nip in the bud whatever was going to befall the arcade before it even had a chance to surface. And then there was her rift with Felix, who had been getting a little too taken away by Red, whom she strongly believed played a part in the impending danger. Was she the one who had been in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, scrambling the Good Guy's codes and causing him to glitch and behave erratically? Whatever it was, the sergeant had to reason her husband and try to keep him away from Red. But how, especially without going into another argument with him? Sure, Felix was naïve at times, but he wasn't stupid. He should have believed her right away after he had seen the stolen files. Unless...Red had corrupted the handyman's code so much that his will was at a critical point. It was worth checking out his game. But first, she wanted to rest for a few hours.

Just as she fell back on her futon, however, rapping was heard at her door.

"Sarge, are you awake?" a child's voice was heard.

Tamora recognized the voice as Gretel's. What was she doing in _Hero's Duty_ at this hour? She guessed Green had been nice and let her pass (He was the one on doorman duty, after all).

"On my way, runt!" She headed for the front door, letting the tween in. Calhoun took Gretel's slightly distressed expression as a bad sign, which meant something had apparently happened in _Fairytale Speedway. _But she had to ask.

"What happened?" the sergeant asked.

"Red. She was in the code room. With some guy in blue."

Tamora raised an eyebrow at that last part. Red had allies, just as she had guessed. She didn't know a "guy in blue," though.

"And Red, she was all...bizarre. She didn't sound like herself; she was pronouncing all her _s_'s like _th_'s. And it was like a guy was in her body. I'm telling you, it was not her at all. And don't get me started on the eyes. I saw it all, Sarge! Something's totally up with her. That was _not_ my friend in there." Gretel started to burst into tears. "Whatever she was doing with that guy-I think she called him Burn-it's not like her. She has _never_ been herself lately."

"Calm down, runt. Okay?" Tamora placed a gloved hand on the tween's shoulder in an attempt to settle her down, pulling Gretel toward herself as if she were her daughter. Things were definitely taking a creepy turn now from everything Gretel had just finished telling her. It had sounded as if someone had taken over Red's avatar and body. A virus, perhaps? Or loose malware in the game that crept into her code by accident? Or some crazy glitch that was causing her to act erratically?

Calhoun, however, had her mind floating around the first possibility. And she knew only one virus that could screw up a game's programming and caused or risked an out-of-order the next morning. Gretel's vague mention of how Red had spoken hinted at that possibility.

But it was impossible at the same time as she'd watched the scourge of Game Central Station burn in _Sugar Rush_, never to regenerate. It had to have been another virus just like him. The only way to know for sure, however, was to follow Gretel back to _Fairytale Speedway,_ and bring Ralph and Felix with her.

...

"Sweet dreams, bastard," Whiplash sneered, looking down at the soldier he'd just knocked out with a loose pipe he'd pulled from the metallic wall. The soldier had taken them on a "tour" (as Kenneth had claimed) of the fortress, showing them around every area and room of the place. The fortress's interior was more metallic on the inside than on the outside. Not to mention a bit more...futuristic. They had seen several test subjects of Cy-Bugs, among other things, with Kenneth asking the soldier where each corridor led to every five minutes. Whiplash knew it had been all to find one place in the fortress. Finally, when they got to a staircase heading all the way down to the fortress's bottom, which was off-limits according to their "guide," Kenneth and Whiplash raised eyebrows at that, knowing it must have held something important. And what led to the unconscious soldier. Both took a step toward the staircase...only to get a nasty shock from the doorway and rebound off it. That was when they realized they found the right place.

The only thing standing in their way was the matter of trying to break through the barrier that barred intruders.

"What the hell?" Whiplash cursed.

Kenneth touched the invisible barrier, feeling a jolt. "Looks like we found what we came here for. Just as I knew we would."

"They got some pretty damn good security," the Turbo Twin pointed out. "How are we gonna get past it? Without turning into a fried angel-and-racer platter?"

"Our friend Kowaltski's asleep, remember?" The healer glanced at the still-unconscious soldier. "And he already won't remember a thing when he wakes up. Now, help me get this armor off. I'll take his helmet, you take the legs."

Whiplash pulled both boots off, while Kenneth removed Kowaltski's helmet. Those had been the easy parts. The difficulty laid in the body armor, which, as Ken and Whiplash knew, would take a while. But as long as the place was still deserted, and the soldier didn't wake up, they had all the time in the world.

...

"Oh, come on, Ralph," Felix huffed, rolling his eyes. He and Ralph were in the large penthouse of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, where the Good Guy was in a heated argument with Ralph regarding Red. He couldn't believe that the wrecker was on board with the suspicions as well. It annoyed Felix to no end, causing red binary to course through his body every few seconds. Luckily no one else was in the penthouse at the time, so they didn't have to worry about Gene or Mary overhearing or stepping in. "Did my wife tell you to warn me? Because I don't see a problem with Red. She's just a friendly (though pushy) kid. Just like Vanellope."

"So Vanellope's eyes change like hers?" Ralph retorted, a little peeved at how Felix compared the princess to Red. "And I don't think Vanellope's pushy either. Anyway, _you_ may not have noticed or seen it, but Calhoun and I have. And she could be right about your little friend being involved in everything that's been going on. We may not know how, but she can be." The wrecker narrowed his eyes at his partner. "Usually you believe your wife whenever trouble arises, Felix."

"Yeah, that was with the dangers of her game and Turbo," the Good Guy reminded, "Not that he has anything to do with this. What I'm trying to say is we're talking about a newbie whose game has only been plugged in for a week. Nobody can go Turbo within a week."

"What if she's being used, then, Felix?" Ralph inquired.

"But it still doesn't make sense either way you look at it. She's innocent anyway, Ralph."

"Felix..." the Bad Guy sighed, making one final attempt to talk sense into the handyman.

"I don't want to hear anymore, Ralph!" The Good Guy growled, fists crackling with red energy, which caused the wrecker to jump a little.

"Felix!" Ralph gasped, at a loss for a guess as to what was happening before him.

"What now?" the handyman snapped.

"Your hand..." The Bad Guy pointed to his partner's gloved fist, which was still raised.

Felix noticed his fist crackling with unknown energy in the corner of his eye. He glanced down at it in disbelief, unclenching it and coming to his senses. He couldn't place what was happening to him, but he knew that whatever ailment it was, it was starting to worsen.

"W-What's...happening to me?" The Good Guy crouched to the beige carpeted floor of his penthouse, grabbing his head in an attempt to maintain what little control he had over himself.

"Felix..." Ralph extended a large hand toward his friend.

"Don't touch me!" Felix scooted away, red binary coursing through his body.

Ralph knew it was that red patch again. And whatever virus it contained, it was getting worse, slowly taking over Felix. The Good Guy was starting to lose more and more of himself by the second.

"Felix, come on!" Anger was evident in the Bad Guy's tone, though not directed at the Good Guy. It was mostly at the hacker, despite not having found him or her. Ralph could never forgive anyone doing such a thing to his best friend. If anything happened to Felix, he was going to make sure the hacker would pay for it. "You gotta pull yourself together! Look at me! You're going to be fine!"

The handyman trembled, slowly looking up at Ralph with fear in his sapphire eyes. He was becoming a glitch, that much he knew. He'd snapped at his wife and Ralph on more than one occasion for the past few days, as well as the occasional glitching. Now his hands were crackling. Felix was beginning to think it wasn't an upgrade. He wrapped his arms around himself to keep from panicking.

"Fix-It! Wreck-It! Open up!" Tamora's voice was heard along with knocking.

Ralph went over to the double doors to answer them, indeed revealing the sergeant and Gretel, but neither entered. Both had urgent looks on their faces, which, as Ralph guessed, wasn't a good thing.

"What's going on?" Felix wondered, slowly turning to regard his wife. "Tammy?" Then he noticed the tween. "And the kid from earlier."

"The runt found something in her game," Calhoun replied. "It might be related to what's going on." She was careful not to mention Red, otherwise Felix would have refused immediately, considering how he had been defending the teenage racer. "We need to check it out."

"We're right behind you." Ralph started after her, then regarded Felix, who didn't move an inch at first. "Come on, Felix."

The Good Guy slowly nodded, then got up to follow his wife and friend. Whatever Gretel had found in _Fairytale Speedway_ could very well have something to do with whoever infected him. It could also lead to identity of the vandals who caused the destruction of two games in the arcade.

**Hope you all enjoyed it! Also, I only own my OCs Red, Gretel, and Kenneth (whose character and features are inspired by one of my fave shows on TV), the other fairytale racers, _Fashion Trendy_, and _Celestial Wars_ (and its characters).**


	16. Chapter 16

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 16**

"Princess... Princess..."

Vanellope slowly opened her eyes, stretching and yawning to the new morning in _Sugar Rush_. She glanced down to notice Sour Bill looking...up?

That was when the princess glanced down at her bed, which seemed a little lower than usual. She received an even greater shock when she hopped out of be to realized she was around five feet off the ground, nearly stumbling as she tried to steady herself.

"Sour Bill?" Vanellope regarded her tiny adviser. "Why am I hovering?"

"Well, Princess...um..."

The lead racer raised an eyebrow at him, not understanding his point until she noticed her reflection in the corner of her eye.

Vanellope headed up to her mirror, nearly stumbling along the way. It made her wonder how people could walk on such long limbs. When the princess finally reachd the looking glass, Vanellope noticed something was definitely wrong...or just unusual.

She was staring at herself. Well, not quite herself, but it was her. The only difference was that the little girl who was supposed to be in the reflection was a woman, with long, dark hair down to her waist and still littered with candy. She also had longer, thinner legs and arms, along with curves that did _not_ belong to a child. The last thing the princess noticed was that her pajama top seemed to stretch over her chest, where two large, round protrusions were hanging there...as if they were a part of her. Vanellope blushed at the sight of her new body, not believing it.

"Um, Sour Bill?" She turned to the little sour drop again, still confused on what was going on. "The upgrade worked, didn't it?"

"Apparently," he replied in his usually monotone voice, which made Vanellope wonder why he wasn't affected by the upgrade. Bill was still the same tiny, lethargic piece of candy with detached legs and arms. Maybe the upgrade had no effect on non-playable characters.

"I thought we were getting more tracks and new karts, but..._this_?" The president glanced behind herself, spinning around. She still couldn't believe this was happening. "Whoa."

But her initial excitement was short-lived when screaming was heard coming from the hallway.

"Taffyta!" Vanellope recognized her sister's voice from anywhere. She was in some sort of trouble and probably from her short supply of makeup.

...

"Taffyta!" Candlehead was kneeling over her friend, trying to shake her awake. The strawberry racer had passed out from the shock of seeing herself, who was now mature, with a supermodel figure. She had a larger bust, larger than that of Candlehead, which was average by comparison and nearly flat. The birthday racer sure wasn't going to gain any stares from male characters in-game or outside. Taffyta's short, choppy platinum hair was the same, except a little silkier than before as Candlehead was running her hands through it. It was a far cry from her still-coarse hair, which was lengthened into two longer pigtails extended down to her waist. Her candle was burning brighter than usual, which explained how woken up to burning bed sheets. What had shocked her and Taffyta the most was the lollipop-shaped lance lying right next to the blonde racer, which made one wonder what was going on?

_This must be the upgrade Vanellope was talking about,_ Candlehead thought, although she knew there was no doubt about it as she continued to glance between Taffyta and herself. She definitely wanted to know what in User was going on here? And the birthday racer strongly hoped that Vanellope would have the answers. She had been the first to know about the upgrade, after all.

"Taffyta!" Vanellope burst into her sister's room, then glanced down to notice a passed out Taffyta and a worried Candlehead, which gave her the flag that they were just as confused as she was about everything going on so far. "What happened, Candlehead?"

"I heard Taffyta scream and when I came in here, I...found her like this." The birthday racer gestured to her friend, then noticed Vanellope's matured features and wowed. "Vanellope, you're... You too?"

"I know. We're all...older, somehow. And I'm trying to get the hang of it just as much as you, Candlehead." Vanellope placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, then looked down at Taffyta.

"She fainted when she saw herself," the birthday racer explained, supporting her best friend in her arms. "At least, that's what I'm guessing."

Vanellope glanced down at the strawberry racer, understanding her reaction completely. She knew that it was a lot to take in. No one person could adjust to this change overnight.

"So the upgrade worked?" Candlehead inquired hopefully, though knowing it was obvious.

"Which means Snow and the others should be older too," Vanellope guessed, "and there should be new karts and tracks waiting for us."

"And we got new powers too, judging from Taffyta's sword thing down here." The birthday racer gestured to the lollipop lance on the floor next to the strawberry racer, then added, with a slightly panicked note to her voice, "And how I torched my bed. I mean, I woke up, and then I noticed my hands were on fire. I burned my bedsheets, my pillow, and almost everything in my room. It's all toast." She threw her hands up, barely able to keep her calm.

"W-Wha...what happened?" Taffyta slowly raised her head up, rubbing her eyes and regarding Candlehead with a slight scowl. "You know your babbling can get annoying sometimes. And what are you doing in my room, anyway?" Then she craned her head to notice Vanellope right behind the birthday racer. "Vanellope? You're in here too?"

"You fainted," the birthday racer reminded, hands on her hips in mock annoyance. "And excuse me for 'babbling.' I just heard you scream in here and then when I came in here I saw you out like a light on the floor."

"Vanellope," the strawberry racer murmured, glancing up at the princess.

"You okay, Taffyta?" she asked, helping her sister up and brushing down her pink nightgown. And when the strawberry racer got up all the way, she stumbled.

"Yeah, I went through that same problem too, Taffyta," Vanellope said, remembering her falling and tripping session when she had woken up and on the way to her sister's room. "It takes getting used to, don't worry."

"Yeah, I got that now." Taffyta then glanced down at her matured self, namely the tall lollipop-esque lance, whose candy end was curved like a crescent moon. She held it up. "What happened to us? What's going on?"

"It's the upgrade," Vanellope replied, "It's finished."

"But why do we look so...so old?" Taffyta carefully went over to her mirror, doing a double take a herself, namely her hourglass figure and exposed neckline. She ran her hands, stopping at her newly-developed breasts, face turning the color of her nightgown as she felt their softness. Then she glanced at the lollipop-shaped weapon still lying on the floor, picking it up and holding it upright next to her. It was around seven feet tall, definitely taller than herself and a little shorter than Ralph. Then she raised it a little, as if trying to get a feel for it. It felt great so far, albeit still slightly weird. "I thought we were getting new tracks and karts. Where are they? And where did _this_ come from?" Taffyta held up the lance.

"Same with my candle going out of control," Candlehead added, her hands suddenly engulfed in flames, which were threatening to grow as they started to brush against the pink, vinyl floor of Taffyta's room.

"Whoa, Candlehead!" Taffyta quickly backed away as the flames started to lick against her skin. The strawberry racer had to move behind the mirror to shield herself from her friend's uncontrollable fire. Vanellope followed suit, making room behind the looking glass as well.

"That's the thing: I can't control it!" The birthday racer tried to put the tiny flames out, but they kept growing.

"Don't worry, Candlehead!" Vanellope jumped from behind the mirror and grabbed Taffyta's pink comforter from the racer's bed in the corner. She tossed it over Candlehead's burning arms, patting and taming the flames for a few minutes until they were completely out.

"Thanks, Vanellope." The birthday racer sighed in relief.

"Anyway, this is crazy," said Taffyta, stepping from behind her "shield" once she was positive Candlehead wasn't going to light up again. "Our sudden growth spurt, these new powers..." Then she regarded, Vanellope. "Wait, Vanellope, you don't have any freaky powers, do you?"

"I'm not sure. Besides my glitching." Vanellope glitched a little to her right, proving her point. "Either way, we can say the upgrade apparently gave the other racers powers too. But that's an excellent question, Taffyta."

"But what about everything else? Like the new karts and tracks?" Taffyta wanted very badly to know if they had received everything as predicted, which included new tracks and karts. But she wasn't going to keep nagging Vanellope about it, as she knew that if she did want to know, they would have to head down to the track. Besides, the girls couldn't wait to meet up with the other racers.

...

"I gotta tell you this," Calhoun said, "they don't call it 'enchanted' for nothing." She, Ralph, Felix, and Gretel had just entered the Enchanted Castle, making it past the two guards who had been manning the door. They'd waved them past upon seeing Gretel (though a little reluctantly). Fairies had been greeting them the second they'd made it into the foyer, bowing or waving at the group.

The castle's interior was enormous, with a vast foyer with two adjoining flights of stairs leading up to the second floor. A large skylight above showed the full moon, which was shining down on a dais that displayed what looked like a checkered flag with fairies hovering around it.

There were rooms around the first floor, both split into two wings. The north wing of the hall held recreational and out-of-game events, while the south wing of the hall was the meeting area for the business side of _Fairytale Speedway_, including matters of things during arcade hours.

"I know." Gretel smiled halfheartedly. "Fairies tend to hang out here a lot, but they're nice and are just doing their job. Not to mention they're everywhere here. Come on, it's upstairs." The tween led the three adults up a long flight of stairs leading up to the upper rooms, where Gretel made a left down a long corridor full of rooms, which bore the names of the game's royal characters: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. They all lived and congregated there after hours. When they weren't working at the Grimm Lodge, that is.

"Slow down, kid," Ralph called, trying to keep up with her quick feet, which gave the Bad Guy the hint that Gretel wasn't just fast in a kart. Or maybe the wrecker couldn't navigate easily in the low-ceilinged hallway, which, unfortunately, couldn't contain all nine feet of Ralph's height. Which meant he had to take great care not to smash through anyone's door or the walls, or accidentally knock out either of his friends or Gretel.

When they went through the long hall of rooms, Gretel led them left toward the west wing, where she headed into the curtained area.

Calhoun, Ralph, and Felix followed her into the curtained room, catching something shiny in the darkness.

"This is it." The young racer continued down the pitch-black hallway until she reached the mirror she'd stepped through the previous day.

"Hmm..." Felix touched his hammer to his reflection. "Dead end?"

"Nope, watch." Gretel stepped up to the looking glass, invoking in a clear voice, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall."

When the mirror started to shimmer, Gretel grabbed Tamora's hand, with Ralph and Felix grabbing on to the sergeant's free arm. They stepped through, ending up in front of the racing game's code vault.

"Looks like Beauty's got the morning off," Gretel guessed as she noticed the room was empty, then punched in the Konami code to open the vault. "Let's go." She motioned for Tamora and the two men to follow.

"You heard the kid." Ralph followed, feeling light as a feather once he stepped into the code-ridden void.

"Let's go, Fix-It," Tamora grabbed her husband's arm, trying to drag him in.

"What if I accidentally touch anything?" Felix asked, fear creeping in his chest. He didn't want to unintentionally ruin anyone else's code with his affliction.

"You won't, Pint Size, don't worry. Besides, I'm here if you start going nuts again. Now come on."

The four characters swam through the code room until they reached Red's red-tinted code.

"Why is her panel red?" Tamora wondered, knowing that code panels were usually blue or purple. But this...this interested the sergeant and the men.

"Watch." With that, Gretel opened the teen's panel, revealing her blinking racing stats, all of which appeared normal. However, as Gretel was going deeper and deeper into the codes, the adults knew she found something suspicious.

As Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun moved in for a closer look, they caught sight of what grabbed Gretel's attention. Within Red's code, there were little icons in the form of faces that were all too familiar to them.

"Is that...?" Felix asked, trailing off. He was also at a loss for words at what he was staring at in the racer's codes.

"Creepy, yeah." Gretel glanced back at the flashing icons. "Even though I don't know who that is. Is he a character from another game?"

"If you can say that," replied Ralph, a slightly angered edge to his voice. He was staring at the strange faces and not believing who it was. He knew the racer in question was supposed to be dead, burned to death by the Diet Cola beacon. No one could have come back from that. If they were outside their game, that is.

But there they were, smiling mockingly at him. And inside a child's code at that.

"Let me guess: it explains Red's behavior and everything, doesn't it?" Gretel inquired, glancing over each of the adults' distressed expressions. She knew it wasn't a good sign. "Please, you gotta believe me. Whoever's in Red's body killed my best friend! He was in here last night too with another creepy guy. We've gotta do something!"

"We believe you, runt. More than you know." However, the more Tamora stared at the familiar icons, the more she failed to believe it. The sergeant turned away, trying to process it all. It just wasn't possible, but they objected to that, which meant...Felix was in danger. And so was the arcade.

The Good Guy noticed the icons as well, still unable to find words for the sudden discovery. His wife had been right the entire time about Red. Well, partially right. Red had been a sweet person, as Gretel had said earlier. Now the teen had been killed and taken over by the virus Game Central Station despised the most. The handyman should have known better, especially when Red could have been the very culprit behind his code going erratic.

...

"Well, well, looks like Taff's been serious about getting you up on time every morning, whoa," Snowanna said, greeting Vanellope, Taffyta, and Candlehead once they arrived at the track. The snow cone racer was especially impressed by the effort Taffyta had been making to ensure Vanellope was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every morning. And it had been going smoothly.

The princess did a double take at the sherbet racer, who developed just as much as she herself had, except thicker around the waist. Snow's afro seemed a little more vibrant than usual.

"Wow, Snow," Candlehead gasped. "You look...well..."

"It's okay, Candlehead," Taffyta interjected, tossing her choppy platinum blonde hair behind her shoulder. "We all look hot."

"A half-hour ago, you passed out in your room, Taffyta," Vanellope reminded, smirking and knowing she'd just thrown her sister under the bus. "Now it doesn't bother you?"

"Okay, I get over things." The strawberry racer shot the president a playfully annoyed look.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?" Snowanna asked. "I mean, why are we like this?"

"I told you that Litwak installed an upgrade into our game, right?" Vanellope filled her in.

"You told us that, yeah, but..._this_? I didn't know it would do this to us." The sherbet racer turned around, trying to get a good look at herself.

"Don't worry, Snow. We had the same reaction earlier," Candlehead assured her. "And it gave us these powers too."

"Wait, I'm not the only one, then. Weird, isn't it? Look." Suddenly, Snowanna vanished, but as the trio looked more closely, they could see an outline of the sherbet racer.

"Snow!" Candlehead jumped.

"I know, it's a little crazy." Snow reappeared before them. "But kinda cool too once you get used to it."

"Yeah, unless it's mine." The birthday racer's candle blazed a little, threatening to go out of control again. _Calm down up there_.

"Taffyta's got this cool staff thing." Vanellope nodded to the strawberry racer.

"Not that there's anything wrong with having a weapon." Taffyta snapped her fingers, but nothing appeared. "And now it won't come when I need it."

"Hey, we'll have plenty of time during arcade hours to learn how to control our powers, 'kay?" Vanellope assured the other girls. "Even though I won't have to worry about that. I still just have my glitching ability."

"Lucky," Candlehead muttered.

"So you're the first one here, Snow?"

"And how did you guess?" Snow said. "Everyone else seems to be taking their sweet time today getting here, but I'm sure when they come, you'll probably get grilled with questions, Pres."

_Don't remind me,_ Vanellope thought, groaning upon knowing very well that Snow was right. This _was_ a big thing, and it was going to take more than arcade hours to get used to it.

...

"I can fix it!" Felix raised his hammer, albeit a bit more overconfident than usual. He started to fix the windows, as per the norm, except a little more aggressively. It had been the norm all morning, ever since he and Ralph had returned to their games to prepare for the day.

Ralph was watching the surprisingly-arrogant Good Guy, wrecking the building and glancing down at Felix every few seconds. He'd been worried about his nemesis and partner since they'd found out that their worst enemy had possibly returned. They hadn't had time to alert Surge or anyone else in the arcade, so he had to watch Felix every now and then. Specifically the handyman's crimson eyes and eerily-white hammer, both of which heightened the wrecker's anxiety even more. It wasn't like Felix to be like this, that much Ralph knew.

"You might want to try a little harder, Ralph."

The Bad Guy was snapped out of his musings when he noticed Felix directly beneath him, smirking cockily up at Ralph. And it grew worse when he overheard the teenage boy playing the game call for Litwak.

"Mr. Litwak!" Ralph saw the teenage boy wave for the arcade owner.

"What's the trouble, kiddo?" Litwak hurried to the teenager's side. Ralph noticed the owner's worried expression on them. Just like the wrecker, who feared Litwak was suspecting something wrong with their game like last time, the owner feared the game was on the fritz again, which almost left the arcade one game short last time. But that worry was wiped away as soon as the kid spoke again.

"Did someone install an upgrade on this game or something? 'Cause I didn't know Felix could talk in-game let alone talk smack to Ralph." He smiled up at the owner, which relieved Ralph a little but the fear of what would have happened otherwise was still there. "Kinda cool."

"Really?" Litwak examined the screen of the '80s game closely. Ralph noticed the man's eyes on him and Felix, anxiety growing in the wrecker's chest out of fear that the Good Guy would cause an out-of-order.

"Stay in-character, Felix," Ralph whispered in a warning tone to the Good Guy. He did not want to draw any more attention to Litwak.

"I'm the hero of this game, Ralph, so I don't need a bad guy telling me what to do!" the handyman spat.

"Felix..." The wrecker warned again, which earned him another glare from the Good Guy. Then he heard a "huh" from Litwak, glancing up to notice the owner nodding.

"That's...unusual," Ralph heard him say. "Looks like some automatic upgrade. Little strange for ol' Ralph and Felix."

"I know, right," the boy agreed, pointing at the screen and nearly making Ralph jump back a little from the closeness. "Just like those bonus level dudes. I'm digging how you take care of these games, Mr. Litwak."

"Um, well, thanks." The arcade owner was flustered, but then took another glance at _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, examining it intently. Ralph gulped, still continuing his role and watching the owner. "Sure isn't an upgrade I installed," the wrecker heard Litwak mutter as the owner started to turn away.

Ralph breathed a sigh of relief once Litwak left their game. Who knew what would have happened if the owner had assumed something was wrong with it? They had already been through an out-of-order disaster once, and the Bad Guy did not want it happening again.

Once again, the Bad Guy snapped back to attention when a raucous quack was heard.

"Let's see how _you_ like it, Ralph," Felix taunted as an abnormally large duck flew at the wrecker, threatening to attack.

"What's going on? They're not supposed to act like this." Ralph swatted away the raging fowl in confusion.

And it became more disturbing when Felix smiled hollowly at the Bad Guy, head cocked to the side. His words made the scene even more bizarre, sending slight chills down Ralph's spine.

"I fixed it, Ralph," the Good Guy chuckled darkly.

...

"These new powers roll," Jubileena said, disembarking her improved cherry pie-themed kart, which was sleeker and almost metallic-looking, with a cherry stem-shaped exhaust pipe and an ice cream scoop-shaped hull, making her kart resemble a pie _a la mode_.

Jubileena herself was a sight to behold, though not as supermodel glamorous as Vanellope or Taffyta. She possessed an average figure like Candlehead's, with her scarlet pigtails hanging down to her shoulders, cherry stems holding them. Her outfit, which remained the usual cherry T-shirt, red skirt and jacket, and cherry cap, were merely updated to fit her adult form. Despite the upgrade, Jubileena was still the same, cheery racer the others knew and loved. She skipped over to Citrusella, Vanellope, and Taffyta.

The _Sugar Rush_ racers were storing their karts away for the day, parking them into the garage area not far from the track entrance. There were fifteen bays-one for each racer. As predicted, the upgrade gave their karts makeovers in addition to the matured avatars and new powers. Each kart was almost the same as their previous appearances, except they were updated to give them a more modern feel.

However, instead of new tracks, their main track was extended with new regions like the Black Licorice Forest, which was dark and foreboding with a slew of thorn bushes. Vanellope had found herself caught in a thorn during the Random Roster Race, but still had managed to make it to fifth place. Afterwards, she had brushed it off, knowing it had been an unfamiliar track. The other addition was the Sugar Free Desert with its artificially sweet obstacles, such as the Artificial Sweetener Quicksand, where Taffyta had ended up stuck, but had barely broken free if it hadn't been for Candlehead being there. It had still earned the strawberry racer fourth, behind Citrusella, who had snagged her up with her blueberry whip quite a few times throughout the day. It had annoyed the hell out of Taffyta, and she hoped the blueberry recolor knew that as well.

Overall, the upgraded game had pulled in quite a few players throughout the day. To their surprise, the teenage regulars who monopolized the racing game on a daily basis hadn't shown up, which granted Vanellope and friends relief.

Jubileena, especially, had quickly grown attached to her new Cherry Bomb ability. She'd been picked several times throughout the day, and every time had disoriented and taken out her opponents with it. Even Vanellope had struggled a little despite having glitched out of the way a few times. The cherry racer threw herself at Citrusella, pulling her into a hug.

"I love that whip of yours, Citrusella," Jubileena gushed, reaching down to get a feel of her sister's blueberry taffy whip, which appeared short at first, but when Citrusella activated it, it grew to almost impossible lengths. And how it had slowed Taffyta down was proof of that. "You know, how you snagged Taff up with it."

"Don't rub it in, Jubileena." The strawberry racer rolled her eyes, sighing, "You won today, okay? And that was because I'm still trying to get the hang of my little sword thing over here." Taffyta snapped her fingers once, twice, three times, to call up her weapon, but still no lance appeared. She couldn't help but wonder if it had a certain time frame on which it appeared. Did it just work during arcade hours? Or was it just too lazy to obey Taffyta. Either way, the blonde racer would get the hang of it eventually.

"You'll get it, Taffyta, don't worry." Vanellope placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, ensuring everything was fine and it wasn't game over. "You're not the only one who's having trouble. I mean, Candlehead's kart kept catching a little fire today. Heck, I thought _I_ was gonna be toast."

"Says the only one whose powers stayed the same."

"Chin up, Taffyta. It's not the end of the world," Citrusella smirked mockingly, her twin sister behind her. Taffyta could tell the upgrade had done serious wonders on the blueberry recolor. If she was level-headed and Gothic before, she was twice those qualities now. Citrusella's complexion was paler, with dark mascara around her eyes, making them look like those of a raccoon's. Her indigo pigtails were longer like Jubileena's, except tied with blueberry vines. Her outfit possessed a slightly Gothic feel as well, with combat boots and spiked bracelets. However, everything else, such as her blueberry shirt, remained the same.

What was really pissing Taffyta off the most right now was Citrusella's attitude, which now had a snarky tone to it. It had smarted today when the recolor had pulled her whip on the strawberry racer, but Taffyta promised that on the next Random Roster Race she was going to make sure the blue recolor was her first target.

"Yeah, Taff," Jubileena agreed, giggling and latching her arm around Citrusella's. "There's always next time."

"Looks like someone's attitude got upgraded, too," Vanellope pointed out once the twins started off and were out of earshot. She watched them head off to the rainbow bridge, laughing and joking about something she couldn't make out.

"Tell me about it," agreed Taffyta, shaking her head and grabbing it as if she had a headache. Taffyta couldn't stand Citrusella already and they only had the upgrade for a day. She thought the blueberry recolor was cynical before, but now she was downright wicked. "Cit's worse than that Vyse guy now. Not to mention creepy. You know what? Scratch that. She's nothing like that guy. Vyse is just an overconfident jerk, but Cit's just..."

"Like some sort of vampire now?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Snow and I were going off to _DDR_ to celebrate our upgrade. We were wondering if you guys wanted to come."

Vanellope and Taffyta turned to notice Candlehead and Snowanna walking past. Both had hopeful looks in their eyes. The birthday racer was trying to keep her excitement in check, as her candle was threatening to heat up again. She looked up at Taffyta, jumping up and down and trying to contain herself.

"Sure, Candlehead." Taffyta smiled at her friend, knowing she could use some relaxation after dealing with Citrusella. "I could use a little celebration, you know?"

"And relaxation from Her Royal Snarkiness?" Snow added, having overheard the tension between the blonde racer and the Gothic recolor. Snow liked Cit enough, but whenever the latter's cynicism took over, the sherbet racer couldn't stand it. And it usually ended in Snow setting her straight.

"We asked Rancis and the guys too," Candlehead put in, calming down a little and pointing to Rancis, Swizzle, and Gloyd conversing by Rancis's improved peanut butter cup kart.

"Actually, Rancis begged to come with us when we mentioned Pres. Don't know why, but I'm guessing Rancis got a thing for you, Vanellope."

"Um...okay?" The princess blushed red at that, blue binary coursing through her body at the thought of Rancis having a crush on her. Of course, she'd seen the peanut butter cup racer once before Litwak opened for the day, and, Vanellope had to admit, Rancis was handsome. Not to mention muscular. Aside from that, he was still the same shy blonde racer he always had been. The princess had even seen Rancis in action in the Random Roster Race, where he'd accidentally stomped too hard on the brakes and lost control of his kart, which had resulted in Rancis being in dead last. She thought that had been cute enough to the point of being a little hilarious.

But Vanellope had never seen him as...her type.

* * *

Once they were done putting away their karts, the four racers scaled the rainbow bridge, heading out of the game and toward _Dance Dance Revolution_. Snowanna could hardly wait to dance the night away once they arrived. She was moving to a nonexistent rhythm, which caught Vanellope's, Taffyta's, and Candlehead's attention.

"Looks like some things never change." Taffyta shrugged, watching the grooving sherbet racer and her moves, which could creep a non-_Sugar Rush _resident out. Luckily, the girls were used to it, as they had seen Snow in action ever since they were first plugged in in 1997.

"Now I'm thinking she might get that Zangief guy's attention," Candlehead guessed, recalling when they had been in the dance game a few days ago, where Snow had been moving along with the techno beat and conversing with the bad guy from _Street Fighter II_. Now that Snow was a woman, she and her sisters were certain the snow cone racer had a chance.

However, just as they were ready to board the trolley to Game Central Station...

"Wait a minute!" Taffyta froze, whipping around to face Candlehead. "Candlehead, aren't we forgetting something?"

"Forgetting what?" the birthday racer asked in confusion.

"Remember? Before the upgrade, we were supposed to take Vanellope somewhere?"

"Somewhere?" Snowanna repeated, confused as to what the other three were talking about. In fact, she didn't know what the three sisters did without her. She had not hung out with them enough to know everything, so this was news to her. And she was curious to know what was more important than _Dance Dance Revolution_.

"Hey, Snow, you might want to go on ahead," Taffyta suggested, regarding Snow. "We'll catch up to you in _DDR. W_e promise."

"No way. Vanellope's my friend too, guys." Snowanna folded her arms in annoyance. She wasn't letting them leave her in the dark anymore, especially when it involved Vanellope, whom she considered her best friend before and after the King Candy peril. Snow was like the princess's sister as well, and she was going to show it. "So I'd like to know where this 'somewhere' you all need to go to. And why does it include her?"

"I'm just as lost as you, Snow," the princess agreed.

"Candlehead." Taffyta shot her best friend a firm look.

The birthday racer was racking her brain, trying to remember what Taffyta was talking about. After a few seconds, she smacked her forehead.

"I remember now. Kenneth! We gotta see him about Vanellope."

"Kenneth?" Vanellope repeated, remembering her sister mentioning such a character. The princess recalled the birthday racer saying that Kenneth could help her remember something. Something that had to do with what was still going on in Game Central Station. She knew something happened the day everyone had to evacuate their games. But what happened after that?

"Remember? Kenneth the Creeper?" Taffyta tried to fill the lead racer in. "The angel who can heal others. Candlehead said he can heal amnesia too. We gotta get to _Celestial Wars_ so we can get him to do that. After that, Vanellope can remember who was in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._"

"Sorry, Snow." Candlehead gave the sherbet racer a regretful look, understanding how much the latter's dancing fix meant to the snow cone racer. The birthday racer knew Snowanna had not had a chance to do it the previous day due to the upgrade, but celebrating had to wait.

"It's okay, girl." Snow shrugged. "Besides, didn't I already say I was coming with you guys? I'm sure _DDR_ can wait. Plus, whenever the situation involves Vanellope, you might need me to have your back. I ain't standing on the sidelines anymore."

"Thanks, Snow."

...

"Okay, what's gotten into you today, Felix?" Ralph scolded as the Good Guy was helping him out of the mud. The wrecker brushed himself off, glaring at the shorter man.

"What are you talking about, Ralph?" Felix asked, confused by what his friend was talking about. He stared up at Ralph intently.

"You were catcalling and taunting me today. Luckily, the kids thought it was an upgrade, but Litwak was a little bit suspicious about it. And the duck that came after me...what was that?"

"Wait," Felix cut Ralph off. "I was taunting you?"

"Yeah, that's not like you, Felix. Let alone your 'fixing' ducks that come after me. We dodged a bullet with that last part, too!" The Bad Guy then regarded the shorter man. "What did you mean by 'fixing' ducks, anyway?"

The handyman, however, was trying to process everything the wrecker just said. He didn't recall doing any of that.

"All I remember is the first round starting. Everything else...it felt as if I was asleep somehow. Maybe it's that patch again. If so, it's taking over me faster than we thought." Felix sank to his knees, red binary coursing through him. He wrapped his arms around himself, rocking back and forth.

"What's with Felix?" Mary came up to the two men, worried about the Good Guy, whose body was crackling with energy. The female Nicelander then stepped back when she noticed a crimson eye glaring at her. "Sweet mercy!"

"What are you staring at?" the handyman growled.

"Felix! Come on! Wake up!" Ralph tried to pull the Good Guy to his feet, but felt an electric current course through his body, the same one as before. The Bad Guy pulled back, cringing a little under Felix's piercing glare, knowing that wasn't his friend before him but an entirely different person. Almost like a... virus."

"And what will _you_ do, Ralph? Wreck me?" Felix smirked, cocking his head. He raised his eerily-white hammer, ready to strike at the wrecker.

"Felix..." Mary trembled in fear, running off. She had no idea what the handyman was going to do.

"Calm down! Snap out of it!" Ralph urged.

That snapped the handyman back to his senses. The red tint in Felix's eyes faded, and the Good Guy lowered his hammer, regarding Ralph with fear evident in his blue eyes. Then he glanced down at his infected hammer, its colorless hue intimidating. Felix couldn't believe what he had been about to do. He had been about to attack Ralph; the virus's effects having taken over him again. The Good Guy slowly backed away, fearing for his best friend's safety.

The wrecker approached him, reaching out to him, but the shorter man pulled away.

"Don't touch me!" Felix cried. "Stay away from me! Before I hurt you." His body broke into red pixels once more.

"Fix-It! Wreck-It!"

The shorter man cringed at the sound of his wife's voice, definitely not wanting to hurt her uncontrollably.

"Ralph, she can't..."

"That's your wife, Felix. I doubt she'll let you lose yourself and hurt her. Seriously, I doubt it."

"But...I can't face her like this. Please, she needs to leave. I...I...can't believe I didn't listen to her." The Good Guy began to rock again, with several thoughts were racing through his mind; the number one being his not believing Tamora about Red, because if he had, he wouldn't have been in the mess he was now. They could have found out how to cure the Good Guy sooner. But Felix knew it was too late, as Red's handiwork was already being put into action, which was why the handyman couldn't face his wife. He just couldn't, not without losing control again and putting her in harm's way. But he doubted Tamora would give him much choice.

"Fix-It!" Calhoun found the two men, then noticed her husband crouched on the ground, a nervous wreck. She knelt down to reach out to him. "Short Stack? Are you...?"

"Stay away! Please!" Felix pulled away.

"What's gotten into you?"

"The virus is getting worse," Ralph interjected. "But we can't get close enough to it to do anything. Felix could, but he still couldn't fix it. He got a power boost from it instead."

"And Surge Protector and Green Mustachio couldn't do anything?"

Ralph shook his head.

"Then whatever that girly-girl installed in your code has to be foreign, just like Dr. 'Stache Bro. had told us earlier. And he was right, which means it's going to be harder to kill this virus."

"What other option _is_ there?" Felix inquired.

"Simple. We ask the little brat herself. Even if I have to wring that hood to do it."

"Hey, is Fix-It around?" A teenage boy's voice was heard.

"Vyse?" Ralph realized as he, Calhoun, and Felix turned to notice Vyse, with Aika catching up behind him. Both air pirates looked panicked. Had Red attacked that game, too?"

"What is it, kid?" the sergeant asked.

"It's our planes again! They're acting bizarre this time!"

"Wait, I thought Felix fixed them," Ralph said.

"I did..." the Good Guy retorted, glancing up to regard the two air pirates. "At least I thought I did, so why are they acting...?"

"That's why we came to get you so you can see what we're talking about," Aika explained. "You gotta come with us."

"But..."

"Don't worry, Felix. I'll come with you," Ralph assured him. "If you lose yourself again, I'll pin you to the ground, I promise."

The Good Guy nodded slowly, knowing the wrecker would be there should anything go awry with Felix.

"You two go ahead and see what the two swashbucklers' problem is," Tamora commanded. "I'll track Fix-It's little 'friend' down. We'll meet in _Tapper's_ later." _Especially when we might know who Little Red Vixen is, though I still think it's impossible that it is who we think it is._


	17. Chapter 17

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 17**

"Ken should be here," said Candlehead as she, Taffyta, Vanellope, and Snowanna disembarked the chariot heading into _Celestial Wars_. A fork in the road stood before them; the left leading to the heaven side and the right leading into hell.

The heaven side was enormous and ethereal, with clouds serving as the roads and Greek-esque temples lining the neighborhood. Angels were eithe soaring around, driving their chariots, or taking strolls down the immortal streets. Like _Sugar Rush_, the sun was always shining, which made it a little hard to believe that this was where one would go when they died.

"So where does this Ken guy live, Candles?" Snow asked as they prepared to set foot into the heaven side of the game and trying to look away from the hell side, which appeared to be shrouded in darkness, making the interior of the dark side a mystery.

"Hold it, you four." An angel, whom the racers guessed was the doorman, appeared in front of the racers, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses at the girls. It reminded them a little of Surge.

"Come on, Dennis, you always stop me!" Candlehead complained, throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"Hmm..." Vanellope smirked, folding her arms in amusement, "reminds me of Stinkbrain." The princess recalled Ralph's many bouts with Surge each time the Bad Guy had been stopped at "random." It was hilarious every time she remembered those times.

"First of all, you're outside of your game, and second, I'm just doing my job, ma'am." The angel, Dennis, possessed a gentlemanly air about him unlike Surge, but he still had that same business-like demeanor as he sized Candlehead and the others. He'd known the birthday racer from her constant trips to the game to see Liz or Cerie, and sometimes running into Kenneth, but he couldn't place who her friends were.

"I know," Candlehead folded her arms in annoyance.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you, ma'am?" the doorman inquired, taking a double take at each racer's upgraded form, chuckling. All traces of his formalities were gone. "What happened to that little girl who always came here wandering, huh?"

"This guy's nosy, isn't he?" Taffyta put her hands on her hips, staring at the curious Dennis with slight annoyance.

"You said it," Snow agreed, then she noticed the doorman's gaze on the four women, which was too...inquisitive to be a just-want-to-know gaze. It was almost creepy when the sherbet racer thought about it.

"Wellllll..." Dennis drew out the word, awaiting a response and glancing over the girls, despite the question being more for Candlehead.

The birthday racer knew she wasn't going to be able to change the subject until he got an answer, which was how curious and nosy he was sometimes. She sighed. "If you must know, _Sugar Rush _had an upgrade yesterday. Kinda hard to explain right now, since we're trying to get a hang of the 'perks,' too."

"What are these 'perks?'" The angel continued to pry, wanting to get every bit of info from Candlehead, who was starting to grow annoyed.

"Look, we're here to see the Creeper," Taffyta interjected, tiring of the small talk. They came for one thing and one thing only, and they were going to make sure it was done. The strawberry racer could care less about anything regarding Dennis's apparent interest and infatuation with their upgrade. All she cared about was finding Kenneth and gathering the information they needed.

"Ah, someone who's concise and to the point, huh?" The doorman smirked, raising an eyebrow at the annoyed blonde racer. He eyed her carefully, from her supermodel figure to her short, choppy platinum hair, making him wonder if upgrades always tended to make a character more gorgeous or handsome. And as far as Dennis knew, _Celestial Wars_ had _never_ received an upgrade. Then again, it was too soon, since they had only been in Litwak's Arcade for a year. But he loved Taffyta's pithy attitude. It amused him somehow.

"Yeah, we were looking for this Kenneth guy Candlehead's been talking about," Vanellope added. "Is he around?"

Dennis's humor-filled smile remained, but his next words betrayed it.

"Unfortunately, you just missed him a few minutes ago," he replied, genuinely apologetic. Despite his constant joking and riddling with anyone who entered the fighting game, the doorman did not like letting anyone down, whether they lived in-game or not. "He just left for Game Central Station. Don't know where he's headed or where he is, but I know that much. Who knows, you might find him somewhere out there."

"Oh, okay," Candlehead shrugged, suppressing her disappointment and her annoyance at Dennis's constant babbling. She knew he could go on about anything if she let him. The birthday racer turned to her fellow racers. "Let's go, guys."

"Hey, Candles," the doorman called just as the _Sugar Rush_ racers started to leave.

The girls stopped, Candlehead regarding him. "What?"

"Would you like to come to the ball with me on Monday?" Dennis glanced at the birthday racer's average figure up and down. "Now that you're..."

"Ew, you pervert!" She hurled a flame at Dennis, despite it being sloppily aimed. The angel ducked quickly, the projectile missing by a few inches. "I may be a woman now, but I'm still mentally a kid! Come on!"

"I was just kidding," the doorman laughed, noticing the embarrassed look on Candlehead's face. He loved poking at the birthday racer. "Don't worry, I'm trying to get in line for Liz if and when she's done with Alec (lucky bastard). If not, there's always Cerie or Juniper. Or your three friends behind you." Dennis lowered his glasses, winking at Snow, Taffyta, and Vanellope.

"Uh, yeah, keep dreaming," Snow said sarcastically.

"Let's go, girls. We don't have time for this," Taffyta said as she sauntered off for the exit.

"You said it, Taffyta." Vanellope followed.

"Yeah, we'll find this Ken guy _somewhere _in GCS," agreed Snow as the four girls headed back to the port from _Celestial Wars_, Candlehead following behind. The birthday racer could feel Dennis's still-hungry gaze on her as she left, knowing she was almost guaranteed to see him at the Mushroom Ball.

...

"Everything's going according to plan," Red said, glancing down at the thousands of Cy-Bug eggs underneath Mushroom Kingdom. She had just planted the egg she had stolen from _Hero's Duty_ a couple of days ago, which had matured and multiplied into the large quantities that were skittering about the rocky and pipeline-ridden underside of Mushroom Castle. The viruses were gnawing at tiny Mushrooms and other shrubbery that barely sprouted from the dark soil, causing many more of the larvae to grow twice their sizes within seconds. It delighted Red to no end, as she knew it wouldn't be long until her plan went into action. She had lied her way past the Toad guards at the moat, having made them believe that she was just another volunteer helping prepare the ballroom for Monday.

And there were quite a few of them upstairs in the room, not having noticed a thing when Red had entered. Princess Zelda, Amy Rose, Cerie the angel of beauty from _Celestial Wars_ were among the helpers and had not suspected a thing when Red had asked Princess Peach for permission to go down to the storage room for supplies, which contained crates, crates, and more crates. It had to be the smallest room in Mushroom Castle, with its rank air and surprisingly-cramped space. It made one wonder how Red or anyone was able to install a trapdoor that led to a nest of thousands of Cy-Bugs. Yet, nobody had questioned how a character from a new game knew her own way around the Mushroom Kingdom.

Not that Red cared, of course. It didn't matter in the end, as it would be too late once the upheaval began. The teen went deeper into the man-made Cy-Bug nest, where she kept a sharp eye on the still-multiplying Cy-Bug eggs and the already matured ones, which were crawling throughout the nest, snapping and growling at each other. Red knew it was only a matter of time before the chaos began. And she wanted to be at the ball to enjoy it. Especially with her latest addition of Bob-ombs dotting the area, which, unlike the regular explosive creatures of Mario Land, exploded with only the slightest touch.

But then Red noticed a few of the adult Cy-Bugs growing riled up, almost disrupting the Bob-ombs.

"Easy, boys, easy," she chided, approaching one. "We don't want to cause a riot yet, do we?" Red placed a hand on one of the viral insects, sending a slight stream of crackling violet energy into the Cy-Bug's simplified code and causing it to calm down almost instantly.

Suddenly, voices were heard.

"What was Princess Peach asking for again? No wonder that Red girl couldn't find it. She just volunteered to help, so..."

"Where is she, anyway? Did she get lost in here?"

Red heard the voices loud and clear above her, knowing that was the sign that she had to leave, otherwise she would be discovered. And she definitely did not want that. Especially when one of the two voices belonged to Felix's wife. What was that nosy sergeant doing in _Mario__ Bros._? Red had not noticed her in the ballroom when she had first arrived, so Calhoun probably had not been in the game that long. Now she was in the basement in search for the decorations Red had "failed" to find. It was enough that the woman was suspicious of her; she did not want to prove Calhoun right.

After making sure the underground was secure, Red hurried upstairs, where, as luck would have it, she noticed Sergeant Calhoun and a purple-furred cat the racer barely recognized.

"Where have _you_ been?" the creature asked, yellow eyes seeming to skewer into Red's intently. The teen could not shake the feeling that they were staring into her soul with a fiery passion. But Calhoun's voice broke the feeling.

"That's a good question," the _Hero's Duty's_ lead agreed, trying to keep her tone even around Red. She put her hands on her hips in impatience. "What have you been doing in here for so long? I just came to this game to offer assistance to the Shroom Princess, and my first assignment was to find decorations...only to find _you_."

Red wracked her brain for a response. There was no way she was going to tell the sergeant what she was _really _doing in the basement. Not when Calhoun's suspicion would rise the second she gave away any telltale signs of criminal activity. But Red was certain that the sergeant had not found out enough to figure out her secret nest, for it was disguised as a part of Peach's storage room.

"I-I was looking for the streamers like Peach told me," the young racer lied, glancing around to make herself more convincing to the cat-like creature and Calhoun. "I've been here for an hour and I couldn't see them anywhere."

"Surely they weren't in that hole you just crawled out of in the corner." The sergeant jabbed a finger at the now-locked-up area Red had just come from.

"A hole?" the cat asked, glancing over Red's shoulder to get a better look at the unknown fixture in the floor. "Huh. I wasn't aware Princess Peach kept additional storage or even had anything like that. To be honest, I don't believe that was there before."

"The Toads probably made renovations on the place, okay?" Red snapped, throwing her hands up in annoyance. "The bottom line is they weren't there."

"And they weren't up here, either, so we'll just have to make do without them," the feline creature sighed, knowing their search had gone to waste. Starting back upstairs, she regarded Calhoun. "I'm going back upstairs to let Her Highness know."

"I'll be there in a second..." Calhoun trailed off, forgetting the name of the cat.

"Blaze," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"I knew that, civilian." The sergeant watched her leave, and then turned on Red, scowling. They were alone now, which offered her the opportunity to find out what Red had _really _been up to in the dank storage room. "Okay, brat, what were you _really_ doing down here?"

"Hel-lo, I thought you heard me the first time. I said I was looking for the streamers Princess Peach asked for. They weren't here, so..."

"Why do I not believe you, then?" Tamora folded her arms impatiently, wanting a better answer than that from the teenage girl.

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Well, I doubt you're in this game to help make preparations for Monday, _civilian_." Calhoun placed emphasis on the last word, knowing Red was anything but one. She saw her more as a criminal.

"This is about your husband, isn't it? My throwing myself at him and everything?"

"Part of it, while another part is the significance of that trapdoor behind you. Now, I may not come to this game often, but I do know that thing has not been there before."

"The Toads probably installed it for extra storage! And I thought I told you that already!" Red was almost at the end of her rope with Tamora's constant prying. It was driving her so insane that she just wanted to poison the sergeant with an apple right now. But she decided against that, for someone would be sure to come down and find a dead character lying in the middle of the cramped, crate-ridden space. "You obviously think I have sthomething to do with what'th going on, and let me tell you right now, I don't!"

"I know you have something to do with all of this. You stole Fix-It's files, stripped one of my soldiers nude..." Calhoun was blushing as that came out. "...and you destroyed two games. The evidence was all in your game, not to mention the fact that you have some sort of interest in my husband."

"And I'm sthaying right now, I had nothing to do with any of those thingths! If it helpth, thomone probably put thothe fileth in my room, and sthuffed your stholdier in there, trying to pin it on me."

"Why are you talking like that?" Calhoun asked, noticing the change in Red's voice, which proved Gretel right. It sounded almost...masculine, with a heavy lisp. And it was making the sergeant a little uneasy and made her believe Red's sudden story less and less. Tamora knew the teenage racer before her was behind everything, despite the girl's best efforts to cover it up. And the creepy change in voice and accent drew the line.

"What are you talking about?" Red asked, the lisp still slightly there.

"The strange accent? Your voice?"

"Oh, that," the racer realized, noticing her suddenly nasal voice. "I...just have a cold right now, that's all." Red cleared her throat to prove her point.

"And you're here 'helping out?'"

"Look, I have a throng immune thystem." Red's tone started to grow annoyed again. "I think I can thurvive."

"There you are, Sergeant Calhoun. The princess guessed you'd still be down here."

Tamora turned to notice Toadsworth, Peach's steward, slowly making his descent to the storage room to meet the woman and girl. When he made it the bottom, he gasped for air.

"What is it?" the sergeant inquired.

"The princess wanted to see if you could get your men from _Hero's Duty _to the ball for security purposes. Better to be safe than sorry, I always say. The princess wants this ball to go very well this year, and doesn't want it to end up a disaster like _Sugar Rush_ a couple months ago. And we know your men are quite experienced."

"Hmmm..." Calhoun nodded at the sound of that. Anything to keep the arcade safe and stable. Plus, they could be watching for any suspicious activity coming from Red or anyone else who could be a suspect. "I'll notify my men, then."

"Very good. Quite. Now, the princess is expecting you two back upstairs so we can get a quick look-over on everything. You know, nothing out-of-place and whatnot. Come along."

"More security, huh?" Red asked, as Toadsworth was starting back upstairs, panting and wheezing as he proceeded. "Looks like things are starting to get interesting." The teen moved past Tamora, following the aged Toad.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the sergeant growled, growing a little irate with cryptic information.

"Exactly what it means..._Tammy_." Red regarded the woman, smirking. "And for the record, I'm not interested in Felix. It's...something else."

Calhoun was ready to snatch her up at the sound of her pet name. She knew only Felix called her that, and from all the times Red had been around the Good Guy, the pet name apparently was rubbing off on the young racer. The sergeant resisted the urge to snatch the girl up, for Toadsworth was still four steps ahead and in earshot, struggling up the stairs with his old bones. He may have been old, but he wasn't senile or deaf. Instead, Tamora held her glare on Red.

"Something else?" she repeated.

"You'll see, Tammy. Very soon, you'll see." The racer chuckled. "Now let's go; we don't want to worry anyone else." Red nodded to Toadsworth, who was eight steps ahead and barely out of earshot.

Tamora followed Red, knowing she had to warn her husband and the others of this later. Especially from what Red was saying too, which gave telltale signs of the ball possibly being in danger.

...

Ralph and Felix followed Vyse and Aika into _Skies of Arcadia_, where they were met by the rapid gunfire the second they set foot into the dogfighting game.

"Yeeow!" the wrecker was knocked backward by the attacking barrage. He wondered why they were being aimed at within mere seconds of entering the game. The debris from the missiles were kicking up smoke, engulfing him and the others, and causing them to gag. "What the...?"

"That was my next question, brother," Felix choked, voice barely audible over the continuing gunfire. When the smoke cleared, the two men glanced up to see an enormous machine hovering before them, its propellers spinning menacingly. It also had two cannons on either wing. As Ralph, Felix, Vyse, and Aika stared up at the machine, the Bad Guy and Good Guy realized that it possessed several of the same qualities as Vyse's plane. The blue trim and biplane qualities were unmistakable; however, there was something...monstrous about it, when the two men noticed sharp canines and red eyes that used to be its headlights.

"Oh my lands..." Felix gasped, staring up in fear at the mutated plane. He knew he had fixed it before, but what happened to it when he had left? Did it get infected somehow afterwards? Had Red been in _Skies of Arcadia_?

"That's what I was talking about," Vyse explained, regarding Felix with a confused expression. The airman knew that the Good Guy could fix almost anything, restoring it to its previous state, but this time was different. And Vyse nor Felix had an answer as to what to make of a plane gone haywire."After you fixed my plane yesterday, everything was going well today...but after our last round at closing, well..." Vyse nodded to the attacking plane, which flew away from them at first, then made a U-turn and started to fire away again, prompting the characters to drop to the damaged ground.

"His plane started going crazy!" Aika finished, covering herself the best she could to shield herself from the onslaught. She refused to fall at the hands of an ally's machine.

Then the strangeness came to a head when the plane stood upright, letting out a deafening roar.

"Planes aren't supposed to do that!" Ralph covered his ears to shut out the ear-splitting noise, with Vyse and Aika following suit. The Bad Guy knew it was one crazy incident after another. First, the nearly-insane Felix and now a machine that apparently had a mind of its own. That in itself was enough to disturb any sane person, and the wrecker knew for a fact that Red was behind this. She had probably broken into the code room during arcade hours to screw up some of the game's codes. But when Ralph glanced up to notice Felix merely standing next to him, not covering his ears, the fear within his chest started to return. Especially the Good Guy's next words.

"You should be grateful, Vyse," said the handyman, smirking as he watched the plane circle above the group, its cannons were locked on to them and ready to fire, which wasn't bad news for Vyse and Aika as they were in their game but it still looked bad for their reputation outside arcade hours. The only one who had to be worried was Ralph and Felix, who were outside their game and was under a larger risk.

But the "villain" wasn't worried about the plane, he was more concerned for Felix, who still retained that insane smile. The Good Guy regarded Vyse, who was starting to grow more and more worried by the second. The pirate was just as confused by what he had just said. And for the first time, Vyse felt chills having heard those words from the handyman.

"What? You call this 'fixed?'" Aika shrieked, jabbing a finger at the monstrous plane. "This is a disaster!"

"It's improved," Felix chuckled darkly, "Now your plane can kill whatever catches your fancy. You should be thanking me, Vyse. And if you want, I can make it more powerful." The handyman raised his ivory hammer, ready to hop up and "fix" Vyse's plane.

But Ralph was not going to allow that; he tackled the Good Guy just as Felix was about to lift off the ground to do the insane deed. The wrecker and his partner rolled down the hill until they ended up in a nearby crater, where the Bad Guy pinned Felix to the bare ground. Then Ralph noticed the change in the Good Guy's attitude, which was growing more and more disturbing. Felix was grinning psychotically up at Ralph, crimson eyes boring emptily into the wrecker's.

"You shouldn't have done that, Ralph," the Good Guy said, chortling maniacally as his body began to crackle with red energy, which in turn coursed through Ralph and causing him to pull away from Felix.

"You guys okay down there?" Vyse asked, as he and Aika running up to the lip of the crater, then noticed the two men at its bottom. They both noticed the insane Felix. "Why is he acting like this? This isn't like him!"

"Look, it's a long story, kid," said Ralph, then noticed a shadow hovering over them. It was the corrupt biplane, whose cannons were open and ready to fire at the four characters.

Then matters grew worse when a sudden tremor was heard, causing the ground to shake beneath them and stirring new fear within the group.

"What the hell?" Vyse swore. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Ralph replied, then noticed Felix rising to his feet, lightly laughing. Felix smirked, as if finding enjoyment in what had been happening so far. "Felix, come on! We need to get out of here! I don't know what's happening or what's about to happen, but I don't want to take chances."

"Same here," Aika agreed, then reached out a hand. "Come on before the plane starts attacking again!"

"Why? I want to enjoy this," the Good Guy said as another tremor occurred, this more fierce.

"Felix! Snap out of it!" Ralph urged, then felt gunfire brush past him as he noticed the plane attacking again, threatening to kill the wrecker. It roared again, propellers spinning menacingly as he proceeded to climb the side of the deep crater. But then he noticed Felix glitch in front of him, blocking his way.

"Can't let you leave, Ralph!" The Good Guy cackled, hammer raised and ready to attack his partner.

"Out of the way, Felix!" The wrecker tried to move past him, but the handyman wasn't allowing him to go any further. Then the Bad Guy noticed that Felix suddenly collapsed, eyes rolling back as he dropped to the ground at Ralph's feet, where he noticed a gold cutlass. The Bad Guy looked up to notice Vyse, smirking.

"Vyse?" Aika glanced up at her fellow pirate in confusion. "You know Fix-It was..."

"I know, but I didn't kill him," said the lead airman, skidding down to recover his weapon and avoiding the bullet rain. "I just hurled the hilt of my Sky Fang at him, okay? Geez. Otherwise, Wreck-It wouldn't have..."

"What are you kids doing down there? We need to get out of here!"

The four characters glanced up to notice Vyse's father, Dyne, at the lip of the crater, glancing at his son, Aika, the unconscious Felix, and Ralph. Despite his usually strict demeanor, there was slight panic evident in his expression, which gave telltale signs that those two tremors were more than just tremors.

"What's going on, Dad...er, Dyne?" Vyse regarded his father, at a loss. He didn't know what to call him during this situation, as he knew Dyne didn't like being called "Dad" on raids. So which one did this qualify as? Then he noticed the bullet rain stopped. Glancing up, he noticed the plane vanishing, turning into code.

"What the...?" Aika was also confused as she and Ralph noticed the reason behind the plane's disappearance. Not far from them, the battleground of the game was turning into a pitch black void, many of the landmarks, ships, and straggling characters becoming code as it was headed their way.

"Okay, now I see your point," the airman realized as he quickly climbed up the lip of the crater, Aika and Ralph (carrying Felix) following behind him as the ground was giving way beneath the wrecker. Vyse helped the two characters onto the ledge, then started to make a beeline for the exit port, where panicked characters and Dyne were frantically filing in toward Game Central Station.

* * *

Aika was the first to make it through the port, then Ralph and the still-unconscious Felix. But when Vyse made contact with the threshold, a barrier repelled him from salvation.

"Vyse, come on!" Aika urged, grabbing his hand and tried to drag him through but the barrier was relentless denying the airman safety.

"What the hell?" Vyse was banging on the barrier, trying to push through but it was no use. Then he noticed the quickly disintegrating world. "Shit!"

"What's going on, kid?" Ralph asked Aika.

"Vyse can't leave the game, for some reason!" she replied as she reentered to try pushing Vyse through the barrier. However, it was again relentless, as Vyse was unable to fight through. "You're not a glitch, though, Vyse, so why...?"

"This is the same problem that happened to the other two," realized Ralph, still supporting Felix, then he noticed the black void catching up to Vyse, who shoved Aika back through the port. The airman was going to make sure everyone was safe, even at the cost of his own life. That was what a Blue Rogue did. Then he felt his legs break away from him, along with the rest of his body.

"No!" Aika started to run to his aid...only for Ralph to snatch her up in his free arm to stop her. She watched as her leader and friend was completely being consumed by the disintegrating world.

"There's nothing we can do about him now, kid," the wrecker said, dragging her and Felix toward Game Central Station.

"I can't leave Vyse!" The female pirate screamed as she was at the point of tears. She watched as the last of _Skies of Arcadia_ disappear into code, taking Vyse with it. Vyse, her leader and friend, gone. She glared at the unconscious Felix on Ralph's other shoulder, but when she looked closer, she noticed that Felix was now in a daze, his crimson eyes appearing to stare at nothing. If Aika hadn't been angry at the handyman right now, she would have found it creepy. Fix-It Felix was supposed to fix, not wreck. That was Wreck-It Ralph's job, last she checked.

Speaking of Ralph, where was he taking her? She knew it was safer than what they had just experienced, that was for sure.

"I hope that Calhoun found Red," said Ralph as he was nearing the main hub. "Because this has gone on far enough." Then he glanced at Aika, who was just as worried as he was about the situation. She may not have known who Red was, but she knew it was apparently someone she should avoid. The female pirate glanced up at Ralph, opening her mouth to make a comment.

"This isn't a kidnapping, don't worry," the Bad Guy cut her off, assuring her.

"We'll see about that," Aika muttered.

...

"We couldn't find Kenneth anywhere," Taffyta complained, coming out of _The Legend of Zelda_ with Vanellope, Candlehead, and Snowanna. They had been jumping from game to game in search of Kenneth, albeit with no luck so far except for stares and annoyingly interested whistles from other characters at the sight of their matured forms. One had even asked Taffyta out, which had earned the unlucky character a blow to the face.

"I seriously thought he'd be in his game," agreed Candlehead, "Kenneth rarely leaves the game, unless there's a special event going on. But you know, I've heard he's been around Game Central Station quite a bit lately. Wonder what the occasion is?"

"Who knows?" Snowanna shrugged, "Maybe he has a date or something? Anyway, maybe we can see if Vanellope can remember now."

"I don't know." Taffyta then regarded Vanellope. "Can you now?"

"Sorry, nothing's coming to me for some reason," the princess tried to think hard and fish out the memory of that day she had been in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ Unfortunately, the last thing she remembered was her entering the '80s game and tailing the robed figure who could possibly be the hacker. Everything after that was black. Each time Vanellope tried to recall it, it was as if a mental brick wall was blocking her off, preventing her from remembering. She wanted so badly to remember who had been in the fixing game, which could help both her friends and the investigation.

"Hey, look, there's Wreck-It, you guys!" Snowanna's voice snapped the princess back to attention.

"Stinkbrain?" Vanellope glanced around in search of the wrecker.

"Over there." Taffyta pointed to a nearby game port, where Ralph was carrying a young girl and Felix. The Bad Guy seemed to be glancing around, stepping in and out of the threshold as if he was trying to summon Surge.

"Wonder what's up?" Vanellope said, noticing the unconscious Felix and seemingly annoyed young girl, who did not appear too happy about being carried around by the wrecker. The president's focus was more on the Good Guy, however. "Hammer Time looks like he's hurt."

The girls headed over to Ralph, shoving past the other arcade residents and earning curses and grunts of annoyance along the way.

"Come on," the wrecker grumbled, stepping back and forth in the threshold of the port. He had to call Surge and notify him of another game having been destroyed.

"Give it up, Wreck-It," Aika sighed, propping her head on her hand. "He's not going to show up." Then she squirmed against Ralph's hold. "Are you gonna let me go now?"

"Oh, sorry." The Bad Guy placed the female pirate on her feet, then laid the now-unconscious Felix in her arms. "Take Felix for a second."

"Don't tell me you're gonna keep trying to call him. I mean, there has to be another way to get him."

"This was the only way I've known how." Ralph started to jump around the threshold, gaining stares and giggles from the other characters. The Bad Guy knew he was embarrassing himself, but if was going to call Surge down, then he had to grin and bear the laughter that came with it.

"Honestly." Aika folded her arms, rolling her eyes and glancing down at Felix, who was resting at her feet. "Is your friend always that way?" she asked him, "I mean, not like you, but still..." Suddenly her one-sided conversation was cut short by the warning bells for the random security check. "What the?" When the female pirate glanced up, she noticed four young women at the port threshold, with Surge appearing before them. She had neither seen those women before nor had she heard of them. But as the female pirate moved closer, being careful not to abandon Felix, she caught sight of candy-littered hair and a green hoodie.

"Vanellope von Schweetz, Taffyta Muttonfudge, Candlehead, and Snowanna Rainbeau," the green-clad woman introduced themselves to the blue hologram, gesturing to her friends.

"Proceed," Surge nodded, not glancing up from his clipboard. "And be careful."

"Wait!" Ralph stopped the arcade guardian just as he was about to zap away.

"Wreck-It Ralph." He regarded the wrecker. "What is it? And make it brief-I'm still quite busy."

"My game went down," Aika interjected, scooping Felix up in her arms and nodding to the empty port of _Skies of Arcadia_. "And it took Vyse with it. Whatever it was."

"Really?" Surge adjusted his glasses, moving past them to get a closer look at the pitch-black void that used to be _Skies of Arcadia_. This was the third game destroyed this week, and the arcade guardian was nowhere near as close to finding out who he, she, or they were. They had to be stopped, no matter what.

"And that's not all. Before that, Fix-It here _supposedly _fixed Vyse's plane, but then after closing, they went crazy and started attacking. I mean, it was insane. And it gets better: _Fix-It _was insane, going on about things being 'improved' and all that nonsense. That creeped me out big time. Then the game turned into code, and it took Vyse with it. For some reason, he couldn't leave the game. I mean, he wasn't a glitch, and yet..." Aika trailed off, not bearing to finish. It was too painful to even watch her game and Vyse become victims of the hacker's cruelty. And the slightly insane Felix hadn't really helped matters, either. Vyse was her friend, her brave, noble leader, and in some cases, like a brother. Many emotions were running through her now, none of which positive. For one thing, Aika was hurt. She was enraged. And above all, wanted revenge on whoever was behind this.

"Another game went down?" Taffyta interjected, interested in the pirate's story.

"Damn," Snowanna cursed, staring at the dark, empty void. "This guy must be really smart, whoever he is." The sherbet racer regarded Surge. "Have you guys even found out who yet? Has _anyone_ found this guy yet?"

"Not yet," Surge replied.

"_We_ have," Ralph interjected, "Or at least Felix and I think we have." The Bad Guy nodded over to the Good Guy, who was starting to stir in Aika's arms.

"Mmm..." the handyman mumbled, "What happened?"

"You were acting a little...bizarre again," Ralph filled his partner in.

"I...I was?"

"Yeah, and you actually lost it this time. I mean, what was up with you in there?"

"Not to mention you 'fixed' our planes," added Aika, recalling the fiasco with Vyse's machine in the destroyed game.

When she made it to the part where the handyman had lost his sanity, Felix raised an eyebrow, knowing he would never act like that or threaten to put someone's life in danger. It was unlike him. He was a Good Guy, not an insane psychopath like a racer he would rather not name.

"Seriously, his plane went bananas, and not like DK's bananas, either. It was shooting at us and almost killed us. And let me guess, you can't remember that, either."

Felix shook his head. He couldn't remember anything after they had entered _Skies of Arcadia_. It was a blank to him. He hopped out of Aika's arms, then his eyes fell on the pitch-black port. "Oh my lands," he gasped.

"Yeah, that's right. Especially when it's your fault Vyse bit the dust." There was slight anger and irritation in Aika's voice as she glared down at Felix, an accusatory edge to it.

"Okay, let's not start blaming here, okay?" Ralph interjected. "It's not going to get us anywhere. Besides, Felix wasn't himself when we were in there. Someone corrupted him."

"And we're thinking Red might have something to do with it," added Felix.

"Yeah right." Aika folded her arms. "He may be called Fix-It, but there was nothing fixed about what he did. That and what's up with his hammer?" Aika glanced down at Felix's white hammer.

"Yeah, Hammer Time, what _is_ up with your hammer?" Vanellope and the other racers also noticed the change in the Good Guy's trademark tool.

"I know it wasn't there before," Taffyta added, examining the short man's white hammer. "What happened to it?"

"Okay, we need to head somewhere else to talk about this," Ralph suggested.

"That would be wise," Surge agreed. "I need to close this port off, so please proceed."

"Besides, I'm a little hungry," said Candlehead, rubbing her growling stomach. "We've been running around looking for Kenneth all day."

"With no luck, I might add," Taffyta put in.

"What the hell does the Creeper have to do with this?" Aika spat, throwing her arms up, then heard her own stomach growling.

"I think we all need to eat something," Felix said. "That way, we can focus a little bit better."

"_Burger Time_, then?" Vanellope suggested.

"That sounds good," agreed Ralph, "And then you can fill me on what's happened to you guys." The Bad Guy eyed the _Sugar Rush_ racers' upgraded selves. "Seriously, what happened?"

The president smirked, giggling. "It's gonna be a long story, Stinkbrain."

...

"That witch is seriously on to me," Red growled, exiting Princess Peach's castle. Everyone was done for the day, with Princess Peach announcing that they would finish preparations tomorrow. And during that time, she had her own preparations. Preparations for the destruction of Game Central Station. And what better place to start than in _Super Mario_ Bros., where there would be an entire score of residents congregating? It was perfect, and she would be proud of herself in the end.

"Soooo...everything's in place?"

Red turned to see Kenneth hovering behind her, disturbing hundred-watt smile and all.

"What do you want now, Ken?" the teen sighed. "Did you plant the bug in _Hero's Duty_ as instructed?"

"You bet I did, Miss Riding Hood. Whiplash and I had no problems." Then Kenneth's expression fell to an uneasy one. "Well, one soldier caught us, but I took care of that." The angel giggled, smiling wider than usual and casting off a blaze of light.

"How many timesth do I have to tell you about that?" Red snapped, nearly agitated. "And I highly doubt that we're going to pull thith off without anyone finding out. Consthidering that sthomeone'th on to usth."

"Why are you talking like that, all of a sudden?" Kenneth asked, taking a step back. He had never seen the teen lose her temper, let alone have a lisp. And if he wasn't mistaken, her voice possessed a slight masculine tone to it. "You are seriously creeping me out right now."

"Asth if you have never creeped me out. And about me, it's justh allergiesth. Not that it'sth any businessth of yoursth. Now get out of my facthe and make yourself a little more ustheful. Heal sthomeone, rob sthomeone, I don't care."

"Oh, um, okay." Kenneth bowed reluctantly, fear evident within him. If he hadn't been scared of Red before, he was scared of her now. Stepping back a few times, the angel flew toward the exit port, disappearing inside.

When the healer was gone, Red slowly calmed down.

"I can't have that fool know who I really am." Red clenched her teeth, trying to keep it together. She could not blow her cover, especially when it had taken almost forever for the racer to take over the real Red's avatar. And definitely not around Kenneth, who would still be needed until the day of the ball. She didn't care about what an overly-optimistic angel wanted. All that mattered was revenge.

And revenge she would get.

...

"So let me get this straight," Ralph said, "_Sugar Rush_ got an upgrade?" He, Felix, Aika, and the _Sugar Rush_ racers were in _Burger Time_, enjoying burgers and recapping everyone's discoveries. The wrecker took a double take at the racer's new looks, not knowing how he should react.

"That's right, Stinkbrain." Vanellope nodded cheerfully.

"And we got new powers and karts with it," added Taffyta. "See?" She snapped her fingers, and, to her surprise, her lollipop lance appeared in her gloved hand. The strawberry racer swung it around, nearly hitting everyone around her.

"Watch it!" Aika complained, ducking to avoid getting hit.

"Yeah, easy with the...um, sword thing." Ralph leaned back, trying to avoid the accidental assault.

"Hers are no worse than mine," Candlehead said. "Seriously, I torch things now." Her candle started to blaze no sooner than she explained it, causing others to scoot back.

"Okay, don't burn us!" Felix warned in a panic. "Apparently you can't control it yet."

"I'm trying to, okay?"

"Anyway, I thought you saw us today from your game, Ralph," said Vanellope, "As you were getting thrown off the building."

"I wasn't really paying attention today, kid," the wrecker replied sheepishly, then nodded to his partner. "Felix was acting a little crazy today."

"Which explained our planes going haywire," added Aika, taking a bite out of her burger. Then she glanced over at the matured racers. "Getting back to you guys, though, that upgrade...is, like, so cool. You guys can go to _Tapper_ and even experience love, you know? Among other things, of course." Regarding Vanellope, she added, "Even you, Vanellope..."

"Can we please focus?" Snow interjected. "We got an arcade to save."

"Yeah, there's plenty of time to ogle at us later," added Candlehead. "But yeah, it is an improvement from our child forms."

"Anyway," Taffyta brought everyone back to attention toward the business at hand. "Vanellope's found the hacker, even seen him."

"Really?" Aika perked up, but it fell when the strawberry racer continued.

"The only problem is that she can't remember who it was."

"What? Can't remember?"

Vanellope nodded. "Seriously, every time I try to remember it's like some sort of wall in my head that's keeping me out," she explained.

"And we were looking for Kenneth to heal her so she can remember," added Candlehead. "But we couldn't find him today."

"And not to burst your bubbles, girls..." Aika retorted, expression growing serious at the sound of the angel's name. "That could be a good thing."

"What?" Snow raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You know what I mean. Kenneth has been hard to find lately for someone who rarely leaves his game. I've only seen him once this whole week, with some girl. Some girl with a red hood."

"Red?" Ralph repeated, alert at the sound of the name.

"And Kenneth?" added Felix, just as confused as the Bad Guy.

"Yeah, I've seen those two earlier this week. Didn't listen to their conversation, but it looked suspicious. I mean, Ken probably was just healing her, you know? At least that was my first thought, but then he went off to some wall next to _Kirby_. Now that right there..." Aika paused, taking a gulp of her cola. "Raised my pigtails there. Worse than Vyse getting sucker-punched from behind. I wasn't going to say anything because nobody else saw it, and people would've thought I was crazy. I mean, he has a good rep around here as a healer. Like Zelda. But I doubt he can help Vanellope remember."

"Okay, cut it out!" Taffyta jumped out of her chair, then noticed the other patrons looking their way. "Kenneth should be able to heal anything, right? Like Fix-It does?" The lollipop racer jabbed a finger in the Good Guy's direction.

"And even that has limits, you know?"

"Right," Ralph agreed. He knew his best friend well, especially what his hammer could and couldn't do. Felix couldn't fix hangovers, the sick, or broken hearts. That much the Bad Guy knew, and he was certain the handyman wouldn't be able to help with Vanellope's memory regarding the hacker. The hacker had clearly knocked out the princess, which could explain why she couldn't remember. But she remembered actually being in the code room of _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, so why couldn't she remember who the hacker was. That part still didn't make sense to Ralph.

Unless there was something Aika was getting at with this Kenneth guy.

"But this probably doesn't have anything to do with limits," the female pirate continued. "What I'm getting at is that Kenneth can heal Vanellope, but he might not even if you do find him." She grew more serious as she continued. "As opposed to Fix-It over there, Kenneth can heal amnesia and help the person remember...but he can also take away painful memories he or she doesn't want to remember."

"But my memory of the hacker wasn't painful, it would've helped our cause because I apparently knew who he was and what he looked like." Vanellope interjected. "I just can't remember it, that's all. Everytime I do, it's..."

"It's blocked off, right?" Aika inquired. "But you do remember everything else before and after that, right?"

The president nodded. "Wait, so you're saying it's that Kenneth guy?"

"I'm not saying, I'm just deducting. You know, like detectives do? I mean, from what you guys were saying, Vanellope not being able to remember one thing, my first guess was Kenneth."

"So _Kenneth's_ been in our game?" Felix chimed in, then dread filled up in the pit of his stomach. The Good Guy never knew the healer of _Celestial Wars _to commit such a crime, let alone work for the very evil who had given everyone grief last time. Felix knew Kenneth. The angel was too optimistic and smiled too much to turn rogue.

"The _Creeper _broke into the code room?" Taffyta chimed in, not believing it, either. "And planted the red patch in Fix-It's code?"

"Then that means Vanellope was the only one who saw him, but he stole her memory of him ever being there to cover his tracks," Ralph finished. "Looks like we were right about there being more than one hacker on the loose."

"But _Kenneth_, of all people?" Felix was still confused on that part, knowing it didn't make any sense. The healer from _Celestial Wars_ rarely left the game, and if he did, it was for something important. It made the Good Guy wonder what grudge Kenneth had against him. Especially when he could possibly be working with the false Red.

"Well, so much for finding Ken now, huh?" Snow said, sighing.

"Yeah, now we're gonna have to interrogate him," replied Taffyta. "We can sure use Citrusella for that part, then she can clip his wings while she's at it."

"We still don't know where he is, though," Candlehead reminded.

"Then we're gonna have to keep looking for him. Come on."

The _Sugar Rush_ racers rose from their seats, proceeding to leave.

"I'll come with you this time," Aika followed suit. "Hey, you'll need backup in case Ken runs off. We'll just wring whatever he needs to know out of him and then we can fix Fix-It." Then she regarded Felix. "Where's your 'dynamite gal,' by the way?"

"She said she was going to find Red. Probably still out looking for her," answered the Good Guy. He was just a worried for his wife as he was for himself. If anything happened to Tamora, he would never forgive himself.

"There you are, Vanellope!"

Everyone turned to notice Rancis heading up to the group, panting. He was carrying a large paper bag of what appeared to be his and the other male racers' food, having ordered takeout for Gloyd, Swizzle, and himself until he noticed Vanellope upon leaving. The peanut butter cup racer blushed red when he looked up at the princess, but looked away the second the lead racer locked eyes with him.

"What's up, Rancis?" she asked, wondering what was up with him.

"Um, well...I was wondering..." The blond young man was stumbling over his words, trying to find the right words. Whenever he was around Vanellope, Rancis found it hard to talk to her. And he cursed himself for that, but he was going to do it. He was going to muster up the strength and ask her, but not in front of everybody.

"You've been acting pretty weird lately, you know?" Taffyta said. "Especially around Vanellope."

"Yeah, what's up?" Candlehead added.

"_I_ think I know what this means, guys," Aika realized, smirking between Rancis and Vanellope.

"What?" Felix inquired, not understanding the female pirate's point.

"We should go, that's what. You know, look for Ken?"

"Right," Ralph remembered, also rising from the table, Felix following suit.

"So, we'll see you later, Pres?" Snow waved to Vanellope. "We'll fill ya in on what we find out later from Ken, 'kay?"

"Wait!" Vanellope called but the other racers, Ralph, Felix, and Aika were already starting to leave.

"I'm sure whatever Rancis wants to tell you is more important, Vanellope." Taffyta waved the president off.

"Yeah," Candlehead agreed. "Chances are Rancis might not leave until he gets it out." The birthday snickered as she followed the others out.

When her friends left, and it was just Vanellope and Rancis, the former regarded the male racer, wondering what he wanted to ask her.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" she inquired.

"I was wondering..." Rancis started, "and you can say no." The peanut butter cup racer's face was burning red, knowing it was time to go on the attack. "Will you go to the Mushroom Ball with me?" he blurted out.

Vanellope was taken aback by the sudden outburst, knowing she had not heard Rancis ask something such as that. She stared at him intently, confused. Rancis really _did_ have an interest in her; otherwise, he would not have paid her any heed at all. Vanellope didn't know how to answer, as she had never had an interest in the male racer, at least not romantic ones. Rancis had always been considered a friend to her. Granted, he was handsome and likeable, but was not someone she had strong feeling for.

But seeing his reddened face that was glancing down at the sterilized _Burger Time_ tiles in all of his bashfulness, Vanellope couldn't help but feel a little flutter in her heart. She smiled, lifting Rancis's head so they were facing each other. He was a far cry from when he had been a bully to her, flanking Taffyta. After the whole incident from two months ago, Rancis had been a sweet person to her, lending a hand with almost anything.

Besides, Vanellope didn't want to break her fellow racer's heart. All Rancis wanted was someone to accompany to the ball, which was when she decided that she would do it. But only as a friend. Not that she'll tell him that.

"So? Will you go with me?" Rancis asked again, with a little more courage this time.

"Sure," Vanellope finally replied, "I'll be there."

"You will?" Rancis brightened, hope in his blue eyes.

The princess nodded.

"That's great! So, we'll meet at the Rainbow Bridge at six, then?"

Vanellope nodded again with a little enthusiasm, knowing that even though there was drama afoot around Game Central Station, she was going to enjoy every minute of the Mushroom Ball. And at the same time, keep an eye out for Kenneth or any other suspicious characters guaranteed to crash the event. She, Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun had a shared goal: to protect the arcade, no matter what.

...

"What do you mean we should move the Mushroom Ball to Game Central Station?" Peach asked, staring at Calhoun intently with worry. She, Mario, Toadsworth, and Tamora were heading toward _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ so they could discuss the situation further. But Peach didn't see a need for it, as she had never had any problems in Mushroom Ball the entire time she had held it.

Unless it had something to do with the hacker still on the loose. Could it have been that Calhoun had found something out in _Super Mario Bros._? Especially in the cellar, where Peach had sent Red off to grab streamers for the ballroom's ceiling? Had Red and Tamora found suspicious activity down there?

"Look, it's for safety precautions, Toadstool," Calhoun explained. "I came across some suspicious activity in your cellar, and I feel that it might be unsafe. Especially when we'll have almost the entire arcade coming, along with characters from other arcades. Also, one of our helpers could be behind this."

"You're still-a not-a making any sense-a," Mario interjected, confused. His mind was racing through everything Tamora had just explained as well upon leaving the Nintendo game, especially on the last part. Someone who was helping with the ball could also be involved with the danger? It could make sense, seeing as they had a way to try to hack into _Mario Bros._ The Nintendo Good Guy tried to recall who had been helping with the ball earlier. Mario knew it couldn't have been Luigi or Bowser. Besides, the Nintendo Bad Guy was not too bright when it came to codes and hacking. And it definitely wasn't Zelda, who had been diligent in setting up the stage with Link. The red-clad plumber was wondering what Tamora was talking about, but he had a guess that it didn't sound positive.

"She's trying to explain that she witnessed suspicious activity in the Kingdom, Master Mario," Toadsworth translated. "It sounds quite dangerous, but..."

"But how do you know?" Peach cut her steward off. She wanted the whole story from Calhoun before she believed anything.

"We shouldn't discuss it here, though." Tamora glanced around the hustle and bustle of Game Central Station, where characters were milling about between games. The _Hero's Duty's_ lead knew she couldn't discuss it in the open, for there were too many distractions and listeners. "That's why we need to get to my husband's game. Hopefully, he and Wreck-It are home, and we can talk about this together."

"But...I need to go back to my game to..." Peach started.

"Do you want this ball to be a success or not?"

The mushroom princess sighed, knowing if she wanted the Mushroom Ball to be a success, she had to go with the sergeant to _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ Peach knew Daisy and Rosalina could tend to what little preparations that were left without her. But she knew the hacker was still out there, and if she, Mario, Toadsworth, and the other _Super Mario Bros._ residents wanted to survive, Peach would listen to what Calhoun had to tell her. She had saved the arcade once, after all.

* * *

Calhoun and the three Nintendo characters entered _Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s _port, with Mario being the last one to step through, tripping the alarm.

"Name." Surge appeared before the Nintendo Good Guy, again not looking up from his clipboard.

"It's a-Mario," the plumber replied.

"Anything to declare?" But then Surge looked up to notice Tamora in the bunch. "Sergeant Calhoun, I've been looking for you. Could you come over here, please?" The arcade guardian regarded Mario. "You may proceed, sir."

"Don't worry," the sergeant assured the trio. "Go on ahead inside. I'll be there in a second."

Toadsworth and Peach nodded, then continued into the fixing game, Mario following.

"Okay, what's this about?" The sergeant regarded Surge with a scowl, annoyed. She was busy enough as it was. "And you need to make this quick."

"Do you recall when you asked for a fingerprint reading of your husband's file?"

"I do." Calhoun was wondering why he was bringing that up now? How long had that taken? "You identified the fingerprints?"

Surge nodded. "And you will not believe whose fingerprints they were."

Calhoun was starting to grow impatient. She needed to know who was after her husband and corrupted his code. She had to, as it could very well decide the fate of the arcade. And her blood started to run cold at the sound of his next words.

"It was Turbo's."


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi, everyone! I know my updates have been slow, but I'm trying to do my best on these chapters so they'll flow and keep you guys coming back for more. I'm actually a chapter or two ahead in handwriting this, so they'll come a little bit faster. Also, I'll be taking a break soon after Ch. 20. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I'M ABANDONING THE STORY! I'm enjoying writing this just as much as you guys are enjoying reading it. And rest assured, things are heating up and the Mushroom Ball's right around the corner. Look forward to it.**

**And most of all...Thank you SO much for sticking with me up to this point! Your reviews/feedback have been helpful and encouraging and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.**

**Arcade Armageddon**

**Chapter 18**

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," Kenneth said in his usual, mannerly Southern drawl. He glanced from each of the _Sugar Rush_ racers, Aika, Ralph, and finally to Felix, whose body broke into pixels again. Everyone could have sworn they noticed a smirk on the angel's face at the sight of the ailing Good Guy.

"Don't give us that crap! I know you know what we're talking about," Taffyta demanded as she and the others were on the _Super Mario Bros. _side of Game Central Station, where they caught Kenneth entering the vacant port of _Frogger_. Taffyta and Snowanna were pinning him to the wall of the port, with Taffyta pointing her curved blade angrily at Ken's throat and Snow cracking her knuckles, ready to land a KO on him if he dared lied. They were going to wring every bit of information they could out of the healer about Vanellope's condition and hacking _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, and they were not leaving until they knew what they needed to know.

"I wouldn't mess with these girls, Ken," Aika suggested, gesturing to the two girls and propping her elbow on the wall next to Ken. "Especially when I'm starting to think you're the one who destroyed my game, with Vyse and everyone inside."

"Another one was brought down?" Kenneth asked, smiling. "Oh my, that does sound like a quandary, Miss Aika. I knew _Fashion Trendy_ and this one went down a few days ago, but I haven't heard of _Arcadia_ getting knocked down. So sorry for your loss, Miss Aika." Ken regarded the female pirate, retaining that smile as if nothing was wrong.

Aika, however, was growing agitated. She knew Kenneth was mocking her. That grin was not in any way, shape, or form genuine; it appeared psychotic, almost sadistic. If Ken's smile were the least bit genuine, he would have comforted her with words of sympathy. Also, he would have stopped his annoying smile and felt empathy. Kenneth had none, and it annoyed Aika to no end.

"Okay, Buster!" Vanellope stormed up to the angel, heated with her green and brown eyes stormy as she glared at Kenneth. "What have you done to me? Why can't I remember the hacker in Ralph and Hammer Time's game?" The princess gestured to Ralph and Felix, who, along with Candlehead, approached the angel. Ralph was cracking his knuckles, angry that someone had caused Vanellope harm. The lead racer was like a little sister to him, and the wrecker was not going to let this angel get away with whatever he did to Vanellope.

"Ralph…" Felix tried to grab his friend's arm in an attempt to stop him. The Good Guy knew as well as anyone that violence was not going to solve this situation. "Don't hurt him."

"Let go, Felix." Ralph pulled away from the Good Guy.

"Yeah, guys," Candlehead agreed, nervously glancing at her sisters, Snow, and Aika. She was no fighter, unless of course the situation allowed it. The others, however, had other ideas as Taffyta and Snowanna continued to hold Kenneth to the wall.

"Candlehead," the strawberry racer sighed. "We need this guy to spill everything. We know he has something to do with what's been happening around here." Then she regarded Ken, glaring into his blue-grey eyes. "Now look, you're going to tell us everything you know. Otherwise, your game's going to have one less character." Taffyta moved her lance closer to Kenneth's neck, threatening to slit the healer's throat.

"A bit of a tough one, are we?" the angel smirked, backing as far away as the wall could allow. Kenneth still kept his cool, even when he was in a tight situation. It wasn't a programmed trait of his, but he always kept a smile on his face even in the worst predicaments. No way was he going to tell a bunch of cavities, an overgrown ape, a pirate, and Felix his plans. Especially when Mr. Candy would have Ken's wings for it.

But as the two _Sugar Rush_ racers were threatening him a little further and showing him that they were serious, Kenneth knew he had no choice. It was either spill the beans or lose his head. And no matter which path he took, the latter was going to happen.

"What's going on in here? May I have a reason as to why you're congregating in a vacant port?"

"Shit," Snow swore as she and everyone turned to notice the Surge Protector entering the _Frogger_ port, knowing they had been caught and were not supposed to be in a vacant port, let alone one that was under investigation. And just as they were about to get information out of a possible suspect.

"Forgive us, Surge," Kenneth apologized in respect to the arcade guardian as Snowanna and Taffyta released him reluctantly. "These people dragged me in here and pinned me down." The angel flashed his blinding smile at Surge, making his lie almost believable. The group around him could not believe this one bit.

"With good reason," Taffyta spoke up, approaching Surge.

"Yeah," Aika agreed. "Kenneth's a criminal and a demon behind that sweet angel act."

"Oh, nonsense, Miss Aika." Ken waved them off. "I'm no demon, Surge. Granted, Tracy may be a demon, but not me. I have nothing to hide. I'm as innocent as innocent can be. _They're_ the demons here, pinning me down like a defenseless Noki." Kenneth gestured to Ralph, Vanellope, and the others. Then he glanced at Felix, who could have sworn noticed a slightly dark grin on the healer's face.

Red binary started to course through the Good Guy's body as he stared at Kenneth. He knew there was something…off about the angel. Something…wicked behind the constant optimism. Felix could not place what it was, however.

"Look, Surge, this guy might be a criminal," Ralph stepped in. "And one of the hackers."

"Now you must have me confused with someone else, Mr. Wreck-It," Kenneth continued to deny the characters' accusations. He refused to be found out, especially when he had been saved by Surge from ever giving any information.

"Seriously?" Vanellope threw her arms up. "Surge…"

"This is an off-limits area, and dragging an innocent inside is crossing the line," Surge chastised, narrowing his eyes at the _Sugar Rush_ racers, Ralph, Felix, and Aika, none too pleased at the situation. Especially when there was a crisis going on in the arcade. The hologram didn't believe any of them, but he seemed to believe Kenneth more, which peeved Taffyta.

"Look, this guy…" the strawberry racer started.

"Please clear this area now," Surge cut her off. "And no more interrogating innocents. Have a nice day." With that, the arcade guardian vanished, leaving the group and Kenneth alone again.

"Wellll…." The angel was headed out of the port, smirking at Ralph and the others. "Nice try." He chuckled somewhat maniacally, heading into Game Central Station and leaving the group shell-shocked.

"Can you believe that guy?" Candlehead asked, frustrated.

"No kidding," Taffyta agreed, angry at how they had been taken for liars. "That Kenneth guy just lied his ass off to Surge!"

"And that annoying ass smile?" Snowanna added. "Creepy."

"Not to mention that Kenneth made a big joke out of my situation," Aika put in, tears threatening to flow. "I mean, Vyse may have died back there, and…and…" The pirate buried her face in Vanellope's chest, not bearing to remember it. "It's just cruel."

"It's okay." The princess patted her on the back, pulling her closer. She couldn't believe that someone would take something as serious as what Aika was going through so lightly like Kenneth had. It was almost sadistic, as Vanellope thought about it.

Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she noticed Felix, crackling with red energy.

"Hey, what's with Fix-It?" Aika wondered, fighting off tears to slowly glance up at the Good Guy, whose eyes possessed that crimson tint again. She shook her head, knowing this was the last thing they needed right now.

Ralph was getting twice as worried as he approached the Good Guy. Fear crept up in the wrecker's chest at the sight of his partner. It was _Arcadia_ all over again.

"Hammer Time?" Vanellope waved her hand in front of Felix, confused. "What's up?"

But the Good Guy didn't pay the princess any mind, instead turning to Ralph, head cocked to the side. Then he glanced at the long-retreating Kenneth.

"Felix…" the Bad Guy started, approaching him.

"I'll be right back, everyone," the handyman promised, a maniacal smirk crossing his face as he glitched away.

"Felix!"

…

"Looks like Short Stack's not here right now," Calhoun realized as she was knocking at the door of her husband's penthouse, hoping to see Felix. She, Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth had just entered _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ after getting stopped by Surge to discuss the Mushroom Ball location situation.

"Wherever could he be, I wonder?" The aged Toad was glancing around the hallway in search of the Good Guy. Mario was doing the same, hoping to seek out a glint of Felix's golden hammer. Ever since 1997 when the arcade version of _Mario Bros._ was first plugged in, the plumber always considered Felix just as much of a brother as Luigi. Especially when the Good Guy and the player-two younger Mario had so much in common, with no-nonsense women as an example.

"So we'll just have to wait here, then?" Peach asked, a little annoyed but otherwise unfazed. "Ralph's not even here, either. He wasn't even in his shack." The mushroom princess sighed. "Oh well. While we're waiting, what happened with Surge back there, Sergeant Calhoun?"

"Aside from Master Mario tripping the alarm, of course," added Toadsworth.

"It-a was-a random," the Nintendo Good Guy retorted, "Wreck-It a-sets it off-a all the time-a. Anyway, what-a were you and-a Surge talking about?"

Calhoun regarded the three Nintendo characters, shocked that they would ask that question. What she and Surge had been discussing back in the port had rocked her world just as much as it would do theirs if Tamora told them. Not that she would, of course, especially when the information included the possibility of Game Central Station's Most Wanted returning from his burning grave in _Sugar Rush_. If Tamora told the trio of Turbo's possible return, it would raise fear in them. Or they probably would not believe her at all, if she was lucky. Besides, it was still impossible for the evil racer to come back from such a deadly demise.

"Mrs. Calhoun?" Toadsworth snapped the sergeant from her thoughts.

"What?" She regarded the elderly Toad.

"Did Surge discuss anything important with you?" Peach inquired. "Whatever it was, it sounded serious."

"Nothing for you to worry about, civilian," said Tamora. "It was only about heightened security in the arcade, since we apparently have hackers around who can take down a game faster than that blue hedgehog."

"Jolly good idea there," Toadsworth agreed, nodding at the sound of heightened security. "That Surge is a fine bloke to set up precautions such as that. Is he asking for your soldiers, I wonder?"

"Sarge!"

Tamora and the _Mario Bros._ crew turned around to notice Kohut coming out of the elevator, retaining that serious expression about him, but Calhoun noticed panic mixed in that expression as he hurried over to the group.

"What is it, Kohut? Where's my husband?" the sergeant demanded, wondering where Felix was. "He'd better not be playing around with that bimbo." If Tamora saw Red trying to make move on the Good Guy one more time, the sergeant was going to make sure the teen wouldn't regenerate. Especially when _she_ could be the very virus the arcade despised the most. The evidence all pointed to Turbo, after all.

"Bimbo?" Mario repeated, confused, "Fix-It a-wouldn't…"

"He's not with her, don't worry," Kohut cut the plumber off while still regarding his commanding officer. "Fix-It's…lost it again."

No sooner had the words come out of the second-in-command's lips, Tamora felt her blood run cold, dreading the fact that the virus was taking over the Good Guy again. And that it was growing worse by the second. Those fingerprints on the Good Guy's file may not have been much evidence to prove that Turbo was alive again, but it was enough to put the sergeant on the correct trail. All she needed to do was find more. Of course, she wasn't going to mention the ex-racer to the _Mario_ crew, at least not yet.

…

"What could be wrong with you, Mr. Fix-It?" Kenneth asked, retaining that calm in his voice as he stared up into Felix's crimson eyes, not in the least bit frightened. The angel and the Good Guy were near the port of _Sonic the Hedgehog_, where the handyman had him pinned to the wall, anger obviously displayed in his bloodshot glare. Everyone in the arcade was watching the scene before them, awestruck at the Good Guy. Nobody had seen anything like it. Kenneth knew his plan was going into motion just by looking at the angered Felix.

Felix himself was enraged, body crackling with scarlet energy as he was glaring down at Kenneth, who didn't show fear at all as they locked eyes. Instead, he was calm. Too calm. But did the Good Guy care? All he cared about was putting the potentially-psychotic angel in his place. And Felix was going to enjoy every minute of it as he raised his hammer over Kenneth, preparing to strike.

Gasps and murmurs were heard throughout the surrounding crowd, not a person among them knowing what was going on.

"What the hell's with Fix-It?" someone wondered.

"What's he doing to that angel dude?" another chimed in.

"Yeah, let him go!"

"No! This demon's gonna realize how it feels, and I'll show him!" Felix growled, hammer still raised over Kenneth menacingly.

_That's it, Fix-It Felix, Jr.. Embrace the virus. Let the power flow. Mr. Candy will be so proud of me, I can smell my own game coming right 'round the corner._ The healer could see it now. Kenneth, the star of his own game, or at least a portion of _Celestial Wars_, where he would not only earn the attention and recognition that he had been craving his entire life, but he would probably even leave Liz in the dark. And it all started with showing the corrupt Felix to his boss.

"Felix, stop!"

Kenneth swore, noticing Ralph and Vanellope cutting through the crowd, the wrecker grabbing Felix by the arm and trying to pull the Good Guy away from the angel.

_Those guys again? They just never learn, do they?_

"No, Ralph!" The handyman growled, pulling away from the Bad Guy and the lead racer. "He needs to be taught a lesson!"

"What the…?" Vanellope was at a loss for words. "Come on, Hammer Time, this is ridiculous. I know this guy's a suspect, but he doesn't deserve to die for it."

"Exactly, Ms. Von Schweetz," Kenneth agreed, rising to feet and brushing himself off. He bowed in respect to Vanellope and Ralph. "So sorry for the misunderstanding."

The crowd of characters around them groaned, disappointed with the degeneration of the potential fight. Everybody dispersed, leaving the four characters alone.

"Oh, I'll make you sorry," Felix threatened, raising his hammer.

"That's enough, Felix!" Ralph warned, stepping between the two men.

"You know what, Ralph? I'm tired of you and your glitchy friend treating me as if I need to be saved! And standing in my way at that! Now get out of my way…or you'll be next!"

Those last few words stunned Ralph. The wrecker knew he'd never heard his friend threaten him like that. Or call Vanellope a glitch. It was unlike Felix, definitely not something the Good Guy would say. But as Ralph locked eyes with him, the Bad Guy didn't see any shreds of the Good Guy standing before him. It was as if the Felix in front of him wasn't Felix at all, but an entirely different person.

Kenneth, however, saw this as an opportunity to escape. He had to relay this to Mr. Candy, for the plan was on the brink of coming to fruition. The angel flashed away in a flare of bright light, blinding the trio.

"Now look what you did, Ralph!" Felix snapped, red eyes burning into the wrecker's brown ones. "I was getting ready to get him to talk before you two idiots showed up!"

"Before or after you would have killed him?" Vanellope retorted, folding her arms to get her point across.

"Short Stack, there you are!"

"T-Tammy…?" Felix slowly came to his senses at the sound of the familiar voice, turning around to see his wife, hurrying toward them, along with Kohut and the _Mario Bros._ crew. The Good Guy noticed the urgent look on Tamora's face, knowing that whatever it was was not a good thing. Then he glanced around Game Central Station, wondering where he was. The last thing he remembered was being in the vacant port, where the _Sugar Rush_ racers, Aika, and Ralph had been interrogating Kenneth. But what happened after that?

"Fix-It." Mario was just as worried, just as curious about Felix's behavior as Calhoun. "What-a happened?"

"Yeah, I heard you lost it again, Pint Size," Tamora added, kneeling down to Felix's level so she could get a look at him. He was fine, thankfully, but she had to make sure.

"He did," Ralph interjected. "And nearly killed someone."

"And the best part is that 'someone' can be a potential suspect," Vanellope added, smirking with mock optimism.

Calhoun and the three Nintendo characters lit up at the sound of that. Especially the sergeant, because it proved that Turbo had minions this time around. But glancing from character to character, she knew she couldn't tell him about the return of the ex-racer yet. At least not out in the open.

Then her eyes fell on the matured Vanellope, wondering what had happened to her. Did _Sugar Rush_ get an upgrade today? Or had the hacker been in their game too?

"Felix lost it again?" Peach asked, staring at the Good Guy intently.

"Wait, I lost it?" Felix repeated, confused. His body broke into pixels again, causing the _Mario _characters to jump.

"Eh, wot?" Toadsworth's heart almost burst out of his chest.

"What-a happened?" Mario asked, backing away from the handyman.

"We should head back to Fix-It's game first," Tamora suggested. "Then we'll discuss it." _And maybe warn everyone that asshole's back too._

* * *

Everyone returned to _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, heading straight for the penthouse and locking the door, ensuring that nobody would overhear or step in on their conversation.

Tamora realized now that she had to explain everything she had just learned from Surge, especially when it involved Felix, who was in more danger than anyone else sitting in the vast room. She loved him, and would do everything she could to protect him just as she had with the arcade throughout the two months she'd been in Game Central Station. No way was the sergeant going to keep the Good Guy in the dark about any of this. Especially when she loved him.

She and the others were sitting around one of the semicircle couches of the Good Guy's penthouse, trying to recover from the drama between Felix and Kenneth back in Game Central Station. Nobody had an answer as to what had happened out there, save for Ralph and Calhoun, who both knew Felix had lost it big time due to the worsening of the virus within his code.

"What was going on with Fix-It out there?" Peach asked, knowing she'd never seen the Good Guy act the way he had back there.

"Yeah," Mario agreed, "I've a-never seen-a him get-a like a-that."

"Didn't your brother tell you all about it?" Ralph asked, staring at the Nintendo Good Guy in confusion. "Luigi was inspecting Felix's code and found a patch in his code."

"He did-a say a-something about a patch-a," the red-clad plumber remembered. "But he didn't-a say that it-a made a-Fix-It a-crazy."

"And definitely not to the point of Master Fix-It threatening to kill a poor innocent," added Toadsworth. "That's…just not like him." He regarded Felix. "Is it, Master Fix-It?"

"It's not," the Good Guy confirmed. "And the fact that I can't remember it makes it worse. The last thing I remember is being in the _Frogger _port with Ralph and everyone else interrogating Kenneth. Then of course Kenneth lying to Surge. After that, everything was just…black. Like I lost control of myself again." Felix noticed six bewildered expressions on him, then he stopped at Ralph. "Did I lose myself again, Ralph?"

"You did," the wrecker replied.

"And where's Taffyta and the other two? Don't tell me I…" Anxiety filled Felix's chest, a glitch shuddering through his body. "I killed them, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't kill them, Hammer Time!" Vanellope assured the Good Guy. "Thank goodness. Besides, I doubt you would even get a punch in with Taffyta or Snow before they took you down. Anyway, we split up to look for you. Luckily, Ralph and I found the crowd surrounding you and that Ken creep. You looked like you were really going to kill him."

"Then Kohut found you and I came over," added Tamora. "But why were you trying to kill Mr. Sunshine?"

"We would like to know too," Toadsworth stepped in, shifting his cane. "From what I've heard about Kenneth, he's a well-mannered bloke. I mean, he's healed my bad hip a few times."

"Yeah, he's always happy and never loses that smile," Peach put in, just as confused. "So why?"

"The virus took over him again," said Ralph. "After Kenneth lied to Surge about his involvement in all this."

"Kenneth a-lied to Surge?" Mario repeated. "He wouldn't."

"Mario's right," nodded Peach. "He's too nice a guy. And how would he be involved in everything going on with the hacker?"

"The girl from another game that just went down seemed to know Ken very well," answered Vanellope, remembering Aika giving away every bit of knowledge she possessed about the angel. "But anyway, Kenneth could be a criminal too, either working for the hackers or being one himself."

"We think he's the one who broke into this game and installed that virus into Felix," Ralph added, motioning to the Good Guy.

"And it could explain how Fix-It's getting worse and worse," Tamora guessed, glancing over at her husband, who was still trying to piece everything together, despite not being able to remember what he had done after the fact. It had to have been difficult for her husband right now. And soon everyone in Game Central Station would fear him. Had Calhoun gotten there any earlier, she would have threatened to clip the wings off of Kenneth.

"The creepy part was that he was calm when Taffyta and Snow had him pinned down in _Frogger_ and when Hammer Time almost killed him," Vanellope explained. "And if that's not suspicious, then I don't know what is."

"It sounds suspicious enough to know Sunshine's up to something, be it having corrupted Fix-It's code or having been responsible for those games going down." Calhoun paced back and forth, pondering this for a second. She had only met Kenneth once throughout the week, which was when she had been looking for her husband. However, she had not sensed any suspicious activity or scheming going on with the healer. Outside of his game, Kenneth could be a strange character who was hard to read by normal means due to his constant smiling. Everyone knew that, and Tamora could now assume that fact alone could be dangerous if ignored.

"Especially when he could be working for somebody," the sergeant said after a few moments.

"Like Red?" Felix inquired, a glitch rippling through him, which caused the three Nintendo characters next to him to nearly fall off the couch.

"Luigi was a-right," Mario realized as he noticed it. Peach and Toadsworth did too, and their eyes widened. The latter was clutching his chest from the surprise.

"You're…glitching," Peach realized, then was slowly scooting back in fear when she noticed the white hammer in the Good Guy's belt.

"Control yourself, man," Toadsworth blurted out, hand still on his chest.

"I'm trying to, okay?" the handyman snapped, a slightly crimson tint in his eyes. "It's not easy. Especially when it usually comes up whenever someone mentions Red or Kenneth. Come to think of it, maybe Kenneth lying to Surge caused it to take over me a little more than usual. And then those times when I was defending Red. I'm sure of it. And I'm thinking if we find one of them again, maybe we might know how to fix me."

"They might not be so easy to find this time, though," Peach said. "If everything you're saying is true, that is. I'm still a little lost here. First, you're saying that Kenneth is a criminal, now it sounds like you're thinking he may be in league with that Red girl from earlier. And as sweet as she had been today, I just don't see her as a threat."

_Now these guys are starting to act like Fix-It, _Calhoun thought, taking a hard look at the trio intently and wondering if they were corrupted as well. But when she noticed their eyes were still normal, the sergeant realized that the _Mario _trio were clean and being truthful.

"I mean, she doesn't seem like the kind to cause trouble," Peach continued, still confused about the entire situation. The mushroom princess always had a tendency to see the good in people and the outer nature of them. It was a good trait to have, but it could be the worst. And the next words from Calhoun was proof of that.

"That was why I wanted to discuss moving the Mushroom Ball to Game Central Station," the sergeant finally explained. "Because of what I had seen in your cellar when I went to find Red."

"And that is…?" Peach raised an eyebrow at the sergeant, interested.

"Has there always been a trapdoor in your cellar?"

…

"So, you've been found out?" Mr. Candy asked, golden eyes glowing from his hood and regarding Kenneth with an air of slight anger. The angel had just returned to his boss's code-ridden lair, intimidated as always by the zeros and ones scrolling along the walls and toward Mr. Candy's throne. Kenneth always thought it made the cloaked creature more powerful than he thought, almost malevolent, which was why Kenneth always made a commitment to be at his best when he was carrying out Mr. Candy's orders.

But today that was over, judging from the raged glint in the hooded figure's catlike eyes. Mr. Candy clearly was not pleased when Kenneth had told him about his encounter with Wreck-It Ralph and the _Sugar Rush_ racers, the latter having received upgrades. That last part was news to Mr. Candy, and the angel could feel a smirk forming along his unseen face. That was almost enough to put Kenneth back in Mr. Candy's good graces, but the latter was still plenty angry at how the healer's plans were in danger of being discovered, which in turn would expose Mr. Candy's plans. Now there was no doubt about it; they were being investigated and it was only a matter of time before Wreck-It Ralph and friends would screw up his plans. All because of Kenneth's blunder.

But the _Sugar Rush_ upgrade earned by Vanellope and the other cavities intrigued him. Mr. Candy decided that maybe he could check it out himself. Besides, his main tactic was already going into motion, and a certain Good Guy was already stepping closer and closer to the point of no return. It was giving Mr. Candy joy just thinking about it. Soon, he would not have a need for such incompetent henchmen, not to mention creepy ones like Kenneth.

"About Wreck-It Ralph and those cavities finding me out…" Ken started.

"Don't bother," the hooded figure cut him off. "Leave. Do whatever you want before the ball. And tell Burn and Whiplash to do the same."

"So…does that mean you forgive me for…"

"I said go!" Mr. Candy jabbed a finger behind Kenneth, leading to the corridor behind him. "I thank you for the information regarding the upgrade, but I am still displeased at how you let those fools find you out! Now we're in danger of being found out!"

"But…"

"Leave me!"

"I corrupted Fix-It's code…"

"NOW!" Mr. Candy's booming order caused Kenneth to flinch, and for the first time, sent a twinge of fear coursing through his code as he glanced up at his boss, whose piercing gold eyes were intimidating him to the core. The healer scrambled off as fast as he could, disappearing into the darkness.

When he was left alone again, Mr. Candy stared up at the walls of code surrounding him, knowing it wouldn't be long before he would get his revenge on the Bad Guy and the glitch he despised the most. And what better place to exact it than at the Mushroom Ball?

Mr. Candy glitched in a mess of red pixels, then halted his gaze to a wall to glance at his reflection, where half of his face was encased in shadow and the other half showed a more feminine face with part of a dark, red-streaked bang hanging over his face. Mr. Candy smiled darkly, yellow eyes glowing wickedly.

Fix-It Felix, Jr., the ultimate Good Guy, would be his. And the entire arcade would soon obey him without question.

…

The discussion had run for almost four hours, and Calhoun and Felix were the only ones in the latter's penthouse, spending some alone time together. It had taken almost an eternity to try to convince Mario and the gang to move the Mushroom Ball to Game Central Station. In the end, however, only Mario had believed her. Princess Peach and Toadsworth hadn't believed Calhoun about the suspicious trapdoor, claiming that one of the Toads had probably installed it in the cellar without the princess noticing. But the Nintendo Good Guy was certain that Tamora was on to something, and promised that he would convince the mushroom princess about moving the ball to Game Central Station.

And that would allow her to sneak into _Super Mario Bros. _to see what that trapdoor contained. She had to. Red was definitely hiding something, with a little help from Kenneth. But she had to do it during the ball while Peach wasn't in her game, assuming that Mario was successful in convincing his girlfriend. But in case he wasn't, Calhoun had Surge to help. She knew the arcade guardian wanted to protect the arcade just as much as she did, especially when he was always watchful of everything happening throughout Game Central Station.

It was times like this when Tamora was glad she hadn't mentioned the possible return of Turbo to them. Not that Peach would believe that, either. Instead the princess would think she was crazy, with too much arcade protecting on the brain.

But she knew Felix would immediately; he loved her, and he would rather die than let anything such as a demented racer's return happen to her.

Besides, Tamora doubted he would let her leave tonight, as Felix snuggled up to her, arms wrapped around her. It just showed how much the Good Guy cared about Calhoun despite everything that was going on in the arcade. His glitching, his uncontrollable rage, among other things, were of less importance to him right now. All that mattered was that they were together like this for another day. And Tamora enjoyed it, as well as that trait about Felix.

"I'm sorry," the handyman said faintly.

The sergeant glanced down at her husband, not believing what she had just heard.

"What was that, Pint Size?" she asked, wanting him to repeat himself.

"I'm sorry," the Good Guy repeated. "You know, for what happened with Red and everything. You know I wouldn't go against you on purpose, Tammy. I love you too much."

"Don't worry about it, Short Stack. It was the virus talking. I'm just relieved that bimbo didn't do too much damage to you. And with Mr. Sunshine at that."

"And we didn't even know Kenneth was behind it too. I… I can't believe I didn't listen to you. I…"

"As I said before, don't worry about it!" Tamora shoved Felix on his back on the couch, then hovered over him. She was not going to allow any form of escape. "I'll take care of everything, Fix-It. Just trust me."

"But…" Red binary flashed through the Good Guy's body as honeyglows generated in his cheeks with embarrassment. "I feel like I'm helpless. I haven't helped anyone at all in this situation throughout the past few days. I mean, I kinda feel like Peach right now. You know, how she always has to get saved by Mar…" But then Felix was silenced by his wife's finger.

"Relax, Fix-It. It's not good if you keep ranting like that. Plus, it's not helping. You glitch more when you do that."

"But…I'm scared, Tammy," Felix whimpered. "Not just for me, but for you too. And everyone else who's trying to keep this arcade safe."

"Short Stack…" Tamora's voice took on a more stern tone, as if she were chastising a young child. "Do you know how many times I risk my life during game play every day?"

"But you come back in _Hero's Duty_, remember? There's no restart if you're dead outside your game. I mean, what if Red or Kenneth finds and kills you? Though I'm not so sure about Kenneth, but still…what if…"

"Your little girlfriend's not going to get the chance, trust me," Tamora assured her husband. "And you can forget about Sunshine even making an attempt. The point is, Fix-It, I'll protect you just like I do the arcade. Wreck-It's not going to let anything happen to you and neither will the runt."

"And speaking of Vanellope…" Felix charged the subject. "She's grown up a bit, hasn't she? I mean, we've been caught up in everything going on that we haven't had a chance to notice her upgrade or gotten the chance to ask."

Tamora noticed Vanellope's growth spurt as well, but had put it off as second nature in favor of everything going on in the arcade and with Felix. A lot had happened over the past few days, such as, but not limited to, Felix's behavior and finding out that Red could possibly be the very scourge of the arcade. And she had neglected to tell the Good Guy or anyone else that detail, which would confirm their suspicion.

But asking the runt all about her and the other racers' upgrade was tomorrow's issue. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the moment she and Felix had together, because User only knew when they would have such a moment again.

…

"I still can't wrap my head around what happened to you, kid," Ralph said, scratching his head in confusion as he took in Vanellope's newly-upgraded appearance. The Bad Guy and the princess were in the former's small shack, which appeared compact on the outside but was actually pretty roomy on the inside. It had a tiny den, a kitchenette, and a bathroom residing in the corner of the den. The wrecker's bedroom took over the other side of the shack's interior, almost near the foyer. To Vanellope's surprise, it was fairly tidy for such a small house. And Ralph enjoyed it (he built it, after all).

Perhaps the problem was Vanellope, whose improved height did make the shack feel a little more difficult than usual to move around in, but the Bad Guy wasn't going to admit that. She was his friend and "sister," who was always welcome. Besides, they loved hanging out together, spending some friendly time alone. Especially with everything going on in the arcade, which meant they had to take every chance they took.

"And plus with all the stuff going on," Vanellope replied. "It wasn't too important." Then she glanced up at Ralph, thankful that she no longer had to crane her head to the point of a neck injury in order to see him. The princess smiled her usually mischievous smile. "Okay, Major Bodyodor, you can ask away."

"First, what happened to you?" Ralph asked, staring up and down at Vanellope's upgraded form. She was now around five foot seven, just below Ralph's shoulders, and her hair was now longer but still littered with candy. She also possessed a slimmer, supermodel figure, though not the same as Calhoun. Aside from those changes, Vanellope was still the same President von Schweetz from _Sugar Rush_, glitch and all. _Maybe this was why Surge didn't allow me in yesterday._

"Looks like I don't have to answer your question, huh?" Vanellope smirked. "You seem to be able to guess."

"Um, well… you're older. And a little…" The Bad Guy found his eyes accidentally on the princess's exposed neckline and quickly turned away, blushing. "Different."

"That's all you have to say, Stinkbrain?" Vanellope huffed, hands on her hips in mock impatience. "I'm…different?"

"Taller?"

"Seriously, that's the best you got? Well, there's no helping it then." Vanellope plopped on Ralph's king-sized bed, sighing. "Hey, I'm just glad to be out of my game after a whole day. User, that upgrade felt like it took forever, but it was way worth it."

"How so?" Ralph inquired.

"For starters, we got improved karts and a couple additions to our tracks." The princess smiled cheekily.

"Hm." Ralph nodded, somewhat impressed.

"The Black Licorice Forest was the harder area, though. Had too many thorn bushes to count and everything. I think Swizz got caught in a sticky patch once and fell behind today, but Citrusella was going through it like a pro. And speaking of Cit, her attitude got an upgrade too. Now she's a total…witch. Seriously, she and Taffyta were going at it after the race. And her appearance creeped me out big time."

"I thought your friend was always like that."

"Not to the point of being catty. Cit _really _pressed Taffyta's buttons that time."

"Then that _is_ a little strange," said Ralph, remembering the few times he had seen Citrusella, which had been in _Sugar Rush_. Citrusella had been anything but nice then, even behind her Gothic exterior. Was the upgrade so powerful to the point that it could change or heighten a character's personality?

"I know, right. But hey, she's still my friend, and it's just a friendly competition. I'm sure Taffyta and Citrusella'll work it out faster than Il Piantissimo."

"I sure hope so," Ralph said. "But knowing your sister, she can get too proud."

"Yeah, well, that's Taffyta," Vanellope shrugged. "Anyway, this is so cool. And on top of that, we got new powers!"

"Really?" Ralph folded his arms, interested.

"Yeah, Stinkbrain." Vanellope rolled out of the wrecker's bed, landing squarely on her feet and regarded him cheekily. "You saw it today. Taffyta's got some sort of sword that looks like her lollipop, Candlehead can throw flames, Snow can camouflage…"

"What about you?" Ralph cut her off, more interested in what the princess earned with the growth spurt.

"Well…" Vanellope's eyes scanned the tight walls lazily, then stopped at the floor. She sighed in disappointment at the fact that she was the only one without a special ability other than her glitching, which was only because King Candy, or rather, Turbo, had screwed up her code. But Ralph seemed eager to know and was hopeful that she had to have a power as well.

"Come on, kid, you have to have a power too," Ralph said. "I mean, you _are_ the main character."

"I don't actually," Vanellope finally replied, disappointment evident in her voice.

"What? That's ridiculous. I thought upgrades were supposed to affect everybody in the game."

"Well, not all the way, apparently. Even though…" The president glitched a little toward the Bad Guy, nearly knocking him off his feet. But Ralph quickly steadied himself afterward. "I still have my glitch ability. But to not have an actual ability like everyone else, well… it sorta bugs me now, you know?"

"Maybe because you're the princess and princesses aren't meant to save themselves?" Ralph joked.

"I'm not Princess Peach, Stinkbrain," Vanellope countered, the mushroom princess coming to mind the second the Bad Guy mentioned her. Vanellope couldn't help but wonder how Peach could tolerate being kidnapped everyday by Bowser. Or Bowser Jr., also known as "Shadow Mario," in some cases. "I'm not the one who's always being kidnapped by Flame Breath everyday. And, geez, does that guy ever brush his teeth? Or have a mint?"

"Well, Bowser _is_ programmed that way, so we can't do anything about that. Outside the game, they're friends, so really there are no problems between them. Even Mario's friends with him, going to _Tapper _and having drinking contests, with Mario passing out in the end. But I kinda understand what you mean by you lacking an actual power."

"Hey, I'm, just glad they didn't take away my glitching. I love that power too much to lose it now. I can still win races with it, can't I?"

"I'm just glad nothing happened to you while you were in there," Ralph said, patting her shoulder and causing her to stumble a little. She had forgotten how strong he was for a moment. "Who knew what would've happened to you? Especially if Red or that Kenneth guy had sneaked into your game?"

"Good thing they didn't, huh?"

"Yeah." Ralph took a seat on the bed, with Vanellope following suit. He smiled over at her gratefully. He did not know what he would do if Red or Kenneth had attacked Vanellope during their upgrade. But she was safe and sound, and that was all that mattered to him.

Now they had the ball ahead of them, and Ralph knew there was no doubt that Red or possibly Kenneth would be there to crash it. He knew they were working together, and it was no question they were plotting something to foil the Mushroom Ball. And Ralph and friends would be ready.

* * *

Vanellope returned to _Sugar Rush_ the next morning, quickly disembarking the trolley back to the dessert racing game. She was hauling tail trying to get to the track before opening time.

The princess could not believe that she had stayed the entire night with Ralph. Although nothing beyond friendly conversation had happened in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._, Vanellope had still felt embarrassed when she had woken up in the Bad Guy's bed after she had apparently fallen asleep. Luckily, the wrecker had been on the floor, so it had felt less wrong. Though she felt a little guilt about that detail, considering that it was Ralph's home. Now that she was remembering last night, she didn't see anything wrong. But Ralph had apparently seen something wrong, judging from his embarrassed and flustered face when he had noticed her in his bed last night. Still, the princess had no idea why. Especially when she had _accidentally_ fallen asleep.

Right now, Vanellope had a race to head today before Litwak opened, and she had to focus.

But when the princess arrived at the track to get ready (she had no time to get cleaned up and get prepared back home), the track was deserted. Not a kart was at the finish line. Vanellope glanced around, realizing there weren't any crowd members around, either.

_Where is everybody?_ the president wondered. "Taffyta? Candlehead?" She glanced around. Nobody. Blue binary coursed through her. What was going on? Were the other racers sleeping in today? Or worse, was the hacker in her game? Vanellope knew there was only one way to find out, and that meant heading home to Sugar Castle.

* * *

Vanellope returned to Sugar Castle, where she found that its foyer was empty. Not one character was around in the pink/salmon-colored interior.

"Princess?"

The lead racer noticed the two donut officers Wynnchel and Duncan coming out of a nearby hallway, bowing and removing their hats in respect.

"You know you don't have to do that, guys," Vanellope reminded. She didn't care too much for formalities or proper greetings, knowing she was just like any other racer in _Sugar Rush_. But her subjects, like Sour Bill and the donut cops, preferred to show respect.

"We're just used to it, that's all," said Wynnchel, chuckling and shrugging.

The princess knew they were right, considering that they had been working under King Candy for fifteen years, so most of the time it had been required for them, as Candy had always been a stickler for respect and formalities from his henchmen. Vanellope didn't blame them, either.

"Are Taffyta and Candlehead awake?" she asked. "'Cause I didn't see them at the track when I went over there, so…"

"I'm not sure, Miss President," replied Wynnchel. "But I don't know what the rush is."

"What are you guys talking about?" Vanellope glanced from Wynnchel to Duncan in confusion, wondering what was going on here. "I always have a Random Roster Race before the arcade opens."

"Not today you don't, apparently," said Duncan.

"She must not have gotten the message, Duncan," Wynnchel whispered to his partner.

Vanellope scoffed, throwing her hands up in impatience. "What message?"

"The arcade's closed for three weeks. Litwak's on vacation."

Vanellope raised an eyebrow in confusion, knowing she had never heard anything about the arcade owner going on vacation. Unless it had just come up and everyone was just learning about it, but it was still a little too good to be true, judging from how sudden it came up. Or maybe it was just the two pastry officers joking.

"You guys are yanking my chain, right? Because you guys _are_ known to be a little funny." Vanellope stifled a giggle, but still trying to remain serious.

"He's not joking, Vanellope. It's true," a faint and tired-sounding voice was heard.

The president noticed Crumbelina coming down the main stairs of the foyer. She was also upgraded, as Vanellope noticed the posh racer's appearance. Crumbelina had a petite figure, with a fairly flat chest. Two buns were curled up on either side of her dark brown hair, though they were disheveled from sleep. Or the lack there of, considering that her cute, perky face was losing its fair color and growing a little haggard. Her chocolate-coated eyes had a tint of red in them. Vanellope could tell Crumbs hadn't had any sleep last night, or the past couple of days. And who could blame her? The posh racer had been hard at work on everyone's dresses for the ball.

"Crumbs?" Vanellope slowly moved closer to her fellow racer, worry growing in her chest at the sight of Crumbelina. "What's up with you? What happened?"

The posh racer yawned. "I've been working on your dresses for two whole nights. And because of the upgrade, I had to work twice as hard to alter them so they can fit our...womanly forms."

"And no sleep?" The princess sounded panicked.

"Nope. Sour Bill gave me three cups of hot chocolate and a cup of expresso to keep me up. And you know what? It paid off."

"And that means…?" Vanellope inquired, interested in Crumbs's two-night all-nighters.

"They're done. They're all done. I've finished your dresses, Vanellope. Get Taffyta and Candlehead up right now so I can show you." Crumbelina attempted a smile, but nearly fainted from tiredness and lack of sleep.

"Crumbs, you should get some rest," the princess suggested, holding the posh racer steady. "You're pretty exhausted there." Vanellope hadn't seen her during the race the past few days because they hadn't been near each other, so she didn't know how well Crumbelina had performed. But the president was certain the results hadn't been good. She wanted Crumbs to rest before she showed off the dresses, but glancing down at her insistent behavior, Vanellope could tell that Crumbelina really wanted to show them her work.

"Taffyta, wake up." Vanellope was knocking on her sister's door when she and Crumbs arrived upstairs to the upper hallway, hoping the strawberry racer was awake. Crumbelina was knocking on Candlehead's door. The posh racer was starting to faint again, and the princess dove underneath to catch her just as the doorknobs started to turn.

"Mmm…what gives?" Taffyta mumbled, opening her door to see Vanellope holding Crumbelina upright. The princess waved to her, putting on the best smile she could.

"Morning," she greeted.

"Vanellope…" the blonde racer rubbed her eyes, trying to get a clear view of what was going on. "What's up with Crumbs? She looks a little…worn out."

"She's been up all night working on our dresses, Taffyta," Vanellope explained, trying her hardest to keep Crumbs upright. The princess forgot how heavy she was when she became tired. If Candlehead was heavy, Crumbs was dead weight, making it harder and harder to support her.

"What's going on?" Candlehead's voice was heard as the birthday racer opened the door, stepping out to see her sisters and Crumbelina in the hallway, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Are you okay, Crumbs?"

"I'm fine," she replied, reeling back and forth, barely able to stay on her feet. "Just…tired." And that was the end, as Crumbelina collapsed in Vanellope's arms, starting to snooze away. All three girls could tell she was in no position to show off anything, considering that she had been up for two whole nights and more working on six dresses. And that could take a lot out of any one person.

"She's been losing sleep getting our dresses done," said Taffyta, lifting up Crumbs's drooping head. The posh racer was out, and she knew that more than anyone. "They're done, apparently."

"Crumbs was gonna show them to us," added Vanellope. "But for now, we should just let her sleep."

"Must've been a long haul for her, huh?" Candlehead guessed, scratching her head.

"Yep, and knowing Crumbs, she needs a break. Litwak's on vacation too, so that gives her plenty of time to rest."

"Oh, so you know about that now," Taffyta realized.

"I just found out, actually. But that gives us a whole three weeks together."

"After we take care of the hacker," Candlehead added.

"But for now, we should just hang out and, you know, have some sisterly bonding," Taffyta decided. She wanted to spend every minute as possible with her sisters until they had to find and face the hacker, who was possibly Kenneth.

"Besides, where were you last night?" the birthday racer asked Vanellope.

"That's a good question, Candlehead," agreed Taffyta, then regarded the princess with interest. "Where _have_ you been last night, Vanellope?"

The princess's face started to burn red as she gulped, knowing it was going to be a long morning. And Taffyta and Candlehead were both dying to know where she'd been last night.

…

"What were you and your wife talking about last night?" Ralph asked, interested in what Felix had been doing with Calhoun in _Fix-It Felix, Jr._ last night.

The two men were enjoying root beers in _Tapper_, the usual after the arcade closed for the day. And now that Litwak closed the arcade for three weeks for a vacation, it was more crowded than usual. Patrons were coming in and going out, some were at the bar area enjoying their drinks and conversing with one another, and others were just taking in the ambience of the bar game. Ralph and Felix knew Tapper had been busy all day. And was still busy as more characters were entering.

"Was she talking about the...you know, virus? Did she find a way to fix it?"

"Well, you know…" Felix took a gulp of his root beer, face red. Setting his mug down, he continued, "We were…just talking."

"Hm, talking, right," Ralph nodded, taking a huge gulp out of his drink, letting loose a loud belch afterward, which attracted the attention from some of the patrons. Once they returned to what they were doing after a few seconds, he asked, "What about?"

"Hey, I don't have to tell you everything about Tammy and I, Ralph." The Good Guy folded his arms in annoyance. "We were just spending some alone time together. I know you're my brother and all, but whatever we do alone in the penthouse stays in the penthouse."

"Okay, I get it now, Felix. You're married, so sure you don't have to discuss everything with me about what you two do behind the curtain. But I was just curious." Ralph turned to his drink, knowing there was still a little bit he still couldn't wrap his head around about marriage. Not that he was going to reach that level himself. He didn't even have a girlfriend or was interested in love. Besides, the Bad Guy didn't consider himself the romantic type.

"And curiosity will kill the cat someday."

"And where have you been, dear?" Felix asked playfully as he turned to notice that Tamora had just entered the bar. The handyman planted the usual greeting kiss on his wife's cheek as she took her booth next to him, pulling him closer.

"You alright today, Short Stack?" she asked, ruffling Felix's hair and nearly knocking over his cap.

"I'm fine now, Tammy, now that you're here," the handyman replied, going into Calhoun-induced honeyglows.

"I had to get some security for the Mushroom Ball," the sergeant explained, recalling Princess Peach's request for heightened security for the ball. Calhoun had been reluctant about it at first, considering some of her soldiers (like Markowski) were a bit incompetent. But after the sergeant had attempted to explain to the princess what she had found, which had led to Peach not believing her, Tamora decided to assign _all_ of her men to guard duty for the ball in the hopes of extra security. Calhoun knew it was for the sake of the ball's success and the future of the arcade.

"Looks like Peach wants to make sure the ball goes smoothly, huh?" Ralph asked.

"Apparently. And I have all of my men to guard it. So if anything suspicious comes up, we'll be ready."

"Good idea," Felix agreed, smiling and nodding. Then he latched himself around his wife's arm, red binary coursing through him. "So? We're going together, right, Tammy?"

"That's what I wanted to discuss," the sergeant pushed Felix off of her a little, glancing in all directions as if looking around for someone.

"What?" The Good Guy's body broke into pixels again, confused by what Tamora meant. He was also curious about what she wanted to discuss. "You're not coming with me? Don't tell me you've found someone else."

"I haven't, Fix-It, relax." The sergeant assured her husband. "It's just that I have a plan that involves us being separated."

Ralph and Felix both raised eyebrows at Calhoun, lost on what the sergeant was talking about. It was confusing enough that she didn't want to go to the ball with Felix, but it sounded like there was a plan behind it. Did it involve exposing Red and Kenneth?

"So what is it?" the Good Guy inquired. "If we're not going to the Mushroom Ball together, then…"

"You're going to ask Red to the ball when you see her, Fix-It," Calhoun explained, and Felix could tell by her stiff expression that the sergeant was serious and hoping she wouldn't regret it later. "Then you'll gather information from her while you're dancing with her. She doesn't know that we know what she's planning, so this is the time we make that final push and expose her to everyone."

"Wait, why me?"

"Because you're the one she's attracted to the most and already knows you well enough to guess that you're naïve. But you have to act like you're interested in her now instead of me. That way, she won't have a reason to suspect anything."

"Okay, it sounds easy enough." The reality was that Felix doubted it was a good plan and that it was going to fool Red. What if the teen suspected that something was amiss? Then that would put the Good Guy in danger and on the verge of a permanent game over. But he had to do it for the arcade, his wife, and his friends. Besides, Tamora had faith that the plan was going to succeed and would expose Red for who she really was, allowing them to put a stop to her plans before they went any further.

"But what about you?" Felix asked after a few moments, regarding his wife. "Where are you going to be? You're still going too, right?"

"Of course I am, Pint Size," Calhoun replied as if it were a stupid question. "With Wreck-It." She motioned to Ralph, who almost choked on his root beer in shock.

He couldn't believe what he had just heard, especially when it was dragging him into the plan. While he didn't want any part of it, part of him wanted in on the plan as well. Considering that he wanted to save the arcade just as much as they did. The wrecker knew it was going to be dangerous, but hey, he had been in worse situations before. Such as the _Sugar Rush_ incident from two months ago, so how was this any different?

But it still felt weird going to the ball with a date, let alone his friend's wife. It just felt…wrong to the Bad Guy. But it was for a cause, and he would go on with it if he had to. Especially when it didn't look like he had a choice.

"Me? With you?" the wrecker asked for clarity. "But… that's crazy. And just wrong."

"We're just going as friends, Wreck-It." Calhoun cleared up the confusion. "At least that's what it will look like to the brat. We need Red to think _we're_ interested in each other." Then she glanced at Felix. "And you have to tell her that when you ask her."

"Okay," Felix nodded, still just as uneasy about the plan as Ralph was.

"So, we just go in together and dance?" Ralph asked Calhoun. "And listen in on Felix and Red while they're dancing?"

"Exactly," Tamora confirmed, knowing this plan had to work.

"That's Red, though," Felix reminded. "But what about Kenneth?"

"Hey, Stinkbrain, Sergeant Smiles, Hammer Time! What are you guys talking about?"

The three adults turned to notice Vanellope entering the bar game, noticing them immediately. She glitched over to their table to join them. Taffyta, Candlehead, and Snowanna were catching up to her. No sooner had Ralph, Tamora, and Felix turned their attention to the princess and her friends, the adults had just the plan to expose the devious, psychotic angel as well. The _Sugar Rush_ racers noticed their serious expressions, knowing they apparently came at a bad time.


End file.
